Ghosts: The Possession of Button House

The six writer-performers behind Ghosts (Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond) first worked together on the CBBC sketch show Horrible Histories, then made Yonderland and the film Bill. Their sitcom about a young couple who inherit a decaying country house, along with centuries of its dead residents, ran for five series on BBC One from 2019 to 2023. Baynton has said the troupe had no plans to come back; producer Alison Carpenter talked them round, and The Possession of Button House, directed by Simon Hynd, reached UK and Irish cinemas through Lionsgate in October 2026.

It picks up a few months after Alison and Mike (Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe again) have left the house. The ghosts are restless, a scheme for the estate has stalled, and they need a way to reach Alison; a teenagers' séance offers one. The troupe return to their roles, from Farnaby's trouserless Tory MP Julian to Willbond's stiff-backed Captain and Howick's cheerful scout leader Pat, with Lolly Adefope as Kitty and newcomers including Scott Ellis Watson, Sian Clifford and Rufus Jones. Shooting began in March 2026 at West Horsley Place in Surrey, the series' long-standing location.

British critics were warm. Screen Daily found the leap to the big screen charming, Time Out gave it four stars, singled out Watson and read it as an Ealing-style caper with a body-swap twist, Empire praised the neat plot and constant laughs, and The Guardian thought the longer form made room for more silliness without losing the show's warmth. It is aimed squarely at the family audience the series built.