Meet the German Ghosts

Shooting starts on a new remake of the BBC comedy hit

Here’s what the German version of Ghosts looks like…

Filming has just started on a local version of the hit BBC sitcom in Cologne, with Cristina do Rego and Benito Bause playing the couple – Emma and Felix – who inherit the haunted mansion.

Many of the characters will be familiar from the English version, although Scout leader Pat has been replaced by teacher Svenni (Sina Tkotsch) – still with an arrow through her neck – and Tory MP Julian has become insurance salesman Joachim (Sebastian Schwarz).

And – understandably – there is no equivalent of The Captain, the stiff-upper-lipped military man from the Second World War played by Ben Willbond in the original. Instead, there is a new character, the Roman legionnaire Claudius (Max Giermann).

Otherwise, fans of the British show will recognise new versions of Neanderthal Urs (Jan van Weyde), the Countess Adelheid (Antje Widdra), the maid Griet (Meltem Kaptan) and the love-hungry poet Friedrich Dorn (Alexander Khuon).

Six half-hour episodes are being made by BBC Studios Germany, for the ARD network of public-service broadcasters, with writers Aylin Kockler and Yves Hensel adapting the original scripts.

Producer Eva Holtmann said: ‘The start of filming of Ghosts marks the beginning of a new, exciting chapter for BBC Studios Germany. For our first in-house produced series, we were able to win a fantastic ensemble that will fill the characters created by our team of writers Aylin Kockler and Yves Hensel with a lot of humour and emotions.’

The show will hope to emulate the success of the US version, currently in production with its fourth season for CBS.

André Renaud, who is in charge of global format sales for BBC Studios said: ‘The comedic happenings of Ghosts continue to entertain audiences in the UK and US and I’m delighted that German viewers will now also have their own version.’

And Alexander Bickel of the WDR station that will air the comedy in the Cologne region said: ‘Ghosts captivates with a special, warm-hearted humour and hopefully will also inspire audiences in Germany next year.’

Ghosts was created by Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond.

The fifth and final series of the original UK version was the most-watched comedy in 2023, with the finale watched by more than six million people in the week of its broadcast.

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Published: 3 Jun 2024