Ghosts cast reveal grisly plague scenes BBC bosses were forced to axe amid coronavirus pandemic
BBC Ghosts actors have opened up on the sheer irony of being forced to tweak a mass plague scene - as a real-life pandemic had just broken out.
The paranormal BBC One programme, created by the team behind the Horrible Histories books, was all set to depict a beastly plague when the coronavirus outbreak came.
A host of extras were on hand to depict pandemic victims suffering a gruesome fate yet this part of the Ghosts plotline had to be changed at the very last minute.
Mat Baynton, who plays ghost Thomas Thorne said: "The irony was we were filming a storyline about how the plague came to the village when there was a village on the side of the house.
"And so on that last couple of days, we had to stand down our cast of supporting artists, about 15, 20 people who were meant to come and play pandemic victims.
"We had to call and say, 'Don’t come and play a pandemic victim because there’s a pandemic.'"
He added: "It was also as if it had hit headlines months before there was any official reaction."
The grown-up comedy is centred on a young couple, Alison and Mike, who inherit a spooky mansion - and all the terrifying experiences this entails.
Chaos erupts as make the decision to turn their new home into a hotel - an idea which they think is going to help them earn a comfortable living.
The present ghosts, who have made the abandoned property their home for hundreds of years, are anything but happy with the idea and cause havoc with guests and its new home owners.
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With endless comedic elements interlinked with spooky and a somewhat scary narrative, this series is purely based on fictional events.
The first series features six episodes and is available on BBC iPlayer.
Meanwhile the second series, which had to be crammed into a tight filming deadline courtesy of the pandemic, has also been confirmed.
