BBC One’s Ghosts is so much more than a sitcom. Never has this been more exemplified than in its second Christmas special, which aired on the 23^rd of December 2021.

‘He Came’ follows Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) and Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) as they navigate what to do when their festive period is infiltrated by a man who pitches a tent on their grounds. Laurence Rickard and Martha Howe-Douglas’ script is delicately, warmly and realistically crafted. The battle between the desire to preserve their own Christmas and to make somebody else’s a little more bearable is hugely believable, and Mike and Alison’s quickly fluctuating opinions on how to handle the situation beautifully played. The Captain’s (Ben Willbond) feelings on the matter are equally changeable, and Willbond’s impeccable comic timing provides one of the many laughs interwoven with the conflict.

Perhaps less laughable is the plot focussing on Fanny (Howe-Douglas), which explores the events which led her to become Button House’s resident traditionalist prude. Her story is perhaps a little cliché, but is no less heart-wrenching for its predictability. Nuance is provided by the character of her mother (Jennifer Saunders). Contrary to being the tyrant that may have been expected from such a storyline, she was also a woman restricted and confined by her situation and was largely sympathetic.

It is its own brilliance that allows Ghosts to get away with straying from comedic storylines into deeper character explorations. Through jokes and quirks and whimsy, the audience begins to develop a profound care for the characters. While the first series provided flashbacks mostly to satisfy the macabre fascination with how the ghosts met their respective demises, subsequent series began to instead show moments from their lives. In a show that is essentially about being stuck, the moments of progression shown in the snapshots from the past are welcome and exciting – not least because we get to see the ghosts in different clothes.

That is not to say that the show is absent of laughs – far from it. Julian’s (Simon Farnaby) delivery of the words ‘swimming pool’ had me choking on my own laughter, and a quip about ‘The Muppets Christmas Carol’ made me grin with its observational genius. But the jokes that made me fall in love with Ghosts are not what has made me stay in love with it. I’ve stayed for the heart – for Kitty’s (Lolly Adefope) childish joy, Robin’s (Rickard) boyish mischief, Mary’s (Katy Wix) bizarre shows of affection and Pat’s (Jim Howick) fatherly cheesiness.

I have to admit that I was disappointed by last year’s Christmas special. I felt that Mike’s family crossed the line from comedically mean to genuinely mean, robbing the episode of some of the warmth that I watch Ghosts for. This year’s offering has well and truly rectified that, providing a thoroughly heart-warming tale of friendship, goodwill and charity.

I didn’t think it was perfect. Much like my feelings about series two’s ‘Redding Weddy’ I felt there was perhaps one storyline too many – Robin and Mary’s self-inflicted hypothetical legal battle was funny, but could have been reduced to a single scene in my view. Overall however, this year’s Ghosts Christmas special was the perfect antidote to a turbulent festive period, which restored my faith in the inherent goodness of people.

Rating: 4/5

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