Gold orders second series of supernatural sitcom

TV channel Gold has ordered a second series of Marley's Ghosts, its supernatural sitcom starring John Hannah and Sarah Alexander.

Six new 40-minute episodes, including a Christmas special, have been commissioned for broadcast later this year.

It follows the success of the first run of three episodes, which became the channel's second highest rated show of 2015. The first episode attracted an audience of 432,000 – more than four times the slot average.

Alexander plays Marley, a woman who can talk to the dead – including her husband Adam (Hannah), her lover Michael (Nicholas Burns) and the local vicar (Jo Joyner). All have been confirmed as returning for the second series.

Simon Lupton, UKTV's commissioning editor and one of the executive producers on Marley's Ghosts said: 'The pilot run of Marley’s Ghosts received an overwhelmingly positive response from our viewers.

'Launching scripted comedies can be a challenge so we are incredibly proud of this series and its performance and couldn’t wait to give [writer] Danny Peacock the go ahead to take us back into that world.'

The show is made by Matt Lucas's production company John Stanley Productions with Objective. The comedian said: 'I'm thrilled that this series is returning. The writing is consistently inventive and original and the cast bring it to life brilliantly.’

The first series was one of three comedies which Gold ordered three episodes of, as a longer tester than a single pilot episode. The others were Henry IX and Bull.

Daniel Peacock talks about Marley's Ghosts.

Published: 18 Apr 2016