A caveman ghost meets the living in a scene from the UK Ghosts series. Image: BBC
The premise of this TV show is simple – a group of spirits are bound to their place of death but become visible to a living person.
The show is Ghosts and its international popularity is spreading. Now an Australian version is to be filmed in Perth this year.
The BBC show has spawned a US version and a German one in the works.
The Australia version features new lovebirds Kate and Sean moving in together but facing the turbulent inner-city rental market – that is, until she inherits a huge mansion in the country.
Ramshead Manor is haunted by six needy spirits who died there over the last 200 years. When a near-death experience gives Kate the power to see the ghosts, all their ‘lives’ change.
WA Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman says the decision to film in Perth reflects the competitiveness of their incentives to turn WA into a sought-after filming destination.
“The number of scripted film and television productions now being produced in WA each year has more than doubled in the past five years,” he says.
“Ghosts has been a smash hit in the UK and US and built a strong fanbase in Australia, so it’s exciting that our own series with an Aussie twist is being filmed in WA.”
Kylie Washington, the General Manager and Creative Director for BBC Studios Productions Australia, says: “Ghosts is one of those brilliant comedies which lends itself perfectly to localisation around the world, and we have our own, unique, Australian characters that reflect our very own history and culture.
“Our eclectic group of ghosts provides endless entertainment in this share-house comedy series that we hope Australian viewers will fall in love with.”
A German version of Ghosts has been recently announced.
The fifth and final series of the UK version was reportedly the most-watched comedy in 2023 with the finale watched by over six million people in seven days.
The US version is now in its fourth season with CBS.
Ghosts Australia is due to screen to Network 10 this year and feature eight episodes.
