Ghosts: BBC comedy forced to axe characters for series 3 due to coronavirus restrictions

BBC Three comedy Ghosts might look a little different when it returns to television screens later this year thanks to coronavirus filming restrictions.

The upcoming new chapter finished filming just a matter of weeks ago, however, due to a number of strict Covid-19 restrictions being in place on set, some characters won’t be making an appearance this time around.

Metro.co.uk caught up with lead writers Mathew Baynton, Martha Howe-Dogulas and Laurence Rickard ahead of this year’s TV Baftas and discussed how the show had to transform in order to be produced safely.

‘We did [have to axe some scenes],’ Mathew said. ‘There are certain characters who by their nature are constantly in a massive group so we’ve left them in the basement where they live and we’ll have to see them again in series four.

‘But for now, they’re where they belong and we can tell the audience that they’re perfectly happy down there, they’ll be fine, you’re just not going to see them.’

Each scene required a lot of planning due to the limit on how many cast members could be on stage at one time.

‘Every week we had to pick groups of three or four people maximum who could come close to each other but not to anyone else in another group,’ Mathew added.

‘Normally in episodes of Ghosts, there would be lots and lots of scenes where there are just 10 people clumped around a sofa. So there are some shots where you’ll see that but in fact, we had to do it like a special effects shot where you knock off the camera, half of you stand there and do your bit and then go away and then the other half stand in the other half of the frame.’

‘One of our longest scenes was a scene that was all of us just having dinner around the table,’ Laurence said. ‘You’d shoot people, they’d go out a green screen would come in, two more people would have to come in, it just took forever.’

Despite the rigorous new protocols, the team was delighted to be back together again – especially as they hadn’t seen each other in real life since series two had wrapped in the beginning of 2020.

‘Everyone was so happy to finally be back at work and out of the house that we found that everyone was in high spirits,’ Mathew enthused.

Ghosts is nominated for best scripted comedy at this year’s TV Baftas and will be competing against This Country, Man Like Mobeen and Inside Number Nine for the gong.

The British Academy Television Craft Awards take place on Monday 24 May and will be broadcast from 19:00 BST on BAFTA’s Youtube Channel.

Ghosts is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Share your views in the comments below.