385:(Mumford) declined to appear in the next series, leaving Michael Staniforth's Claypole the sole original ghost. Davenport and Mumford's absences were explained at the start of the series by the pair having gone on an extended tour of safari parks (which provided set-up for a joke about "big game haunting"). After Mumford's departure, the business was taken over by Harold Meaker and his wife Ethel, who suffered from the various problems the ghosts brought to their lives.
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367:), played by Jana Shelden, who is collected from outside a magic carpet shop in the Spirit World by Fred Mumford. The two ghosts are transported back to Earth on a flying broomstick, Catastrophe Kate having turned down the alternative of a flying vacuum cleaner. Catastrophe Kate later introduces Hazel the McWitch to the regulars.
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her haunted apartment, and ends up working as their secretary after they help her chase her poltergeist away anyway. However the pilot did not sell, with some concerns over appropriateness of the dark tone of the series aimed at young children, and plans for the series were cancelled.
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in 1993 on the assumption that they were no use and that examples of some other episodes were sufficient. The wiped tapes were then sold overseas to countries that still used obsolete, in the UK at least, tape formats. However,
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due for destruction, where the
Rentaghost team had set up their business, beginning a planned story arc for the first series in which the Rentaghost team must scare off building developers to save their office/home. A young
341:, is originally run by Fred Mumford, a recently deceased loser who feels he can find work for ghosts whose lives were as unsuccessful as his. His first (and only) recruits are Timothy Claypole, a mischievous
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between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called
Rentaghost, which hired out the spirits for various tasks.
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gentleman who is morally shocked by the modern world. The ghosts work from an office, which they rent from Harold Meaker, who discovers the truth about them in the third episode.
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In
September 2008, it was reported that the show could be returning to television after the rights to the programme were obtained by the UK production company
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Over the course of several series, other characters were added: Hazel McWitch, a
Scottish witch; Nadia Popov, a Dutch ghost who suffers from hay fever and
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and is brought to life by
Claypole, who is unable to cancel the spell afterwards, thus allowing Dobbin to remain in the show for the rest of the run.
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was released on VHS and DVD, with rights issues holding up further release. However, the first two series were made available digitally via the
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version of the series was filmed in 1989, five years after the end of the original series, and in keeping with other BBC series such as
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The long-suffering neighbours of
Rentaghost are the Perkins, who appear from series four onwards and think the Meakers are mad.
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to reprise his role as Mister
Claypole, the unofficial 'lead' of the original series, but Staniforth had died two years prior.
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away when she sneezes; and the pantomime horse Dobbin, who first appears in a one-off
Christmas special called
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had requested copies of the first three series a couple of years earlier and they were showing at the time on
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service as part of their "Back To School" section. Britbox is a subscription online TV service run by
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played Julia, a character who visits the agency mistakenly believing them to be living people who can
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but with some of the more pantomime-like humour of later years, was set in a derelict old office in
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Since
November 2023, all 9 series (minus the Christmas special) were made available through the UK
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jester with a comical lack of knowledge about modern technology, and Hubert
Davenport, a delicate
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which had been adapted for Australian versions. The producers had originally wanted
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The pilot, which followed a similar plot to the first two episodes of the original
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Another key figure is a ghost from the Wild West called Catastrophe Kate (cf.
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had been hired to write the script, reuniting the two writers with Stiller.
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is a British children's television comedy show, originally broadcast by the
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705:"Rentaghost: the spooky kids show that is much bleaker than you remember"
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William Perrie and John Asquith - Dobbin the Pantomime Horse (1978–1984)
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as Fred Mumford." However, in October 2011, it was reported that
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The Rentaghost title card, as it appeared in the first episode.
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381:(who played the role of Davenport) died in 1979,
16:British children's TV comedy series (1976–1984)
370:Adam Painting, a local entrepreneur played by
8:
626:-style afterlife feature comedy vehicle for
940:1980s British children's television series
935:1970s British children's television series
757:"Russell Brand Haunts 'Rentaghost' Remake"
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920:British English-language television shows
483:John Dawson - Mr Phil Mumford (1976–1978)
422:episodes and other children's shows were
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
863:Rentaghost Fansite (via Wayback Archive)
604:. However, no new show was forthcoming.
546:(Vincent White) - Bernie St. John (1984)
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890:1984 British television series endings
915:British supernatural television shows
885:1976 British television series debuts
736:from the original on 16 February 2009
7:
853:British Film Institute Screen Online
808:from the original on 14 October 2011
769:from the original on 17 October 2011
593:A stage musical version (written by
435:; these were later recovered by the
49:adding citations to reliable sources
620:and was going to develop it into a
510:Hal Dyer - Rose Perkins (1978–1984)
726:"Rentaghost 'to make TV comeback'"
14:
788:Fleming, Mike (12 October 2011).
755:Fleming, Mike (9 December 2010).
703:Belam, Martin (31 October 2016).
678:"BBC - Comedy Guide - Rentaghost"
634:had been signed for the project.
612:reported in December 2010 that "
480:- Mrs Sheila Mumford (1976–1978)
25:
910:BBC children's television shows
537:- Whatsisname Smith (1983–1984)
507:- Hazel the McWitch (1978–1984)
36:needs additional citations for
930:Television shows set in London
925:Television series about ghosts
868:Rentaghost: from worst to best
794:And Re-Teams Ben Stiller With
474:- Timothy Claypole (1976–1984)
468:- Hubert Davenport (1976–1978)
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1:
798:Scribes Lennon And Garant –"
516:- Arthur Perkins (1978–1984)
616:had acquired the rights to
501:- Adam Painting (1977–1984)
489:- Harold Meaker (1976–1984)
398:List of Rentaghost episodes
956:
597:), toured the UK in 2006.
495:- Ethel Meaker (1976–1984)
462:- Fred Mumford (1976–1978)
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714:– via The Guardian.
531:- Nadia Popov (1981–1984)
407:Only the first series of
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543:- Susie Starlight (1984)
905:BBC television sitcoms
858:Rentaghost the Musical
418:Some master copies of
900:1980s British sitcoms
895:1970s British sitcoms
525:- Tamara Novek (1980)
337:The firm, located in
848:British Comedy Guide
732:. 8 September 2008.
562:Are You Being Served
45:improve this article
796:Night At The Museum
684:on 13 December 2004
658:List of ghost films
637:Night at the Museum
499:Christopher Biggins
372:Christopher Biggins
802:Deadline Hollywood
762:Deadline Hollywood
567:Michael Staniforth
472:Michael Staniforth
466:Michael Darbyshire
379:Michael Darbyshire
269:Production company
183:Michael Staniforth
179:Michael Darbyshire
646:Robert Ben Garant
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810:. Retrieved
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710:11 September
708:. Retrieved
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686:. Retrieved
682:the original
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595:Joe Pasquale
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529:Sue Nicholls
454:Regular cast
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437:BBC Archives
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339:South Ealing
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262:Jeremy Swan,
199:Sue Nicholls
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60:"Rentaghost"
55:
43:Please help
38:verification
35:
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632:Ben Stiller
623:Beetlejuice
614:Warner Bros
583:Lisa McCune
377:When actor
239:of episodes
879:Categories
843:Rentaghost
832:Rentaghost
812:18 October
792:Rentaghost
790:"Fox Buys
773:18 October
740:18 October
664:References
642:Tom Lennon
618:RentaGhost
574:Rentaghost
557:Australian
505:Molly Weir
420:Rentaghost
409:Rentaghost
358:Rentasanta
333:Background
322:Rentaghost
311:1984-11-06
301:1976-01-06
264:Paul Ciani
254:Production
195:Molly Weir
163:Written by
153:Created by
127:Rentaghost
71:newspapers
493:Ann Emery
413:BBC Store
354:teleports
259:Producers
228:of series
191:Ann Emery
166:Bob Block
157:Bob Block
101:July 2008
806:Archived
767:Archived
734:Archived
730:BBC News
652:See also
640:writers
609:Deadline
587:exorcise
578:Victoria
403:Releases
392:Episodes
343:medieval
171:Starring
688:9 March
551:Remakes
444:BritBox
433:UK Gold
309: (
305: –
299: (
294:Release
284:Network
220:English
85:scholar
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92:JSTOR
78:books
837:IMDb
814:2011
775:2011
742:2011
712:2024
690:2015
644:and
288:BBC1
64:news
846:at
835:at
602:RDF
448:ITV
327:BBC
273:BBC
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