Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
- Agent Scully: Parkinson remains completely dismissive of the idea that ghosts are real, even as things get spookier, and then when Mr. Pipes invades the studio and possesses old Parky.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Parkinson declaring that the sudden deluge of panicked phone calls are all pranks, despite the fact that by this point something seriously spooky - supernatural or otherwise - has clearly hijacked the entire broadcast.
- As Himself: Stars as himself, hosting the show.
- Demonic Possession: Possessed by Mr. Pipes in the closing minutes of the show.
- The Host: Acts as the host of the show, though the role is also shared with Sarah Greene, Mike Smith, and Craig Charles. Infamously, the most devoted of the hosts ends quite another sort of "host."
- The Show Must Go On: Even after Pipes has attacked the studio and everyone else has abandoned it, Parkinson stays put and continues to commentate on the action, or lack thereof.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Parkinson gradually grows more and more curt and dismissive as the film goes on. Justified as he was slowly getting possessed the entire time.
- We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Tries to use this to justify the madness occuring in the studio when Pipes invades.
Sarah Greene
Sarah Greene
- As Himself: Plays herself, acting as the intrepid adventurer venturing into Foxhill Drive.
- Curiosity Killed the Cast: Dragged into the basement after Suzanne disappears, and is never seen again.
- Damsel in Distress: Becomes this for a time as things get worse in the house, asking Michael and Mike what they should do when Suzanne starts showing signs of possession.
- Friend to All Children: She is the correspondent who speaks most often to Kim and Suzanne. Justified, since she was a children's presenter for the BBC at the time.
- Happily Married: To Mike Smith.
- Intrepid Reporter: Ventures into the Early house to spend the night with them and investigate the spooky goings on.
- Plucky Girl: She follows the girls into the glory hole in an attempt to help them.
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
- As Himself: Plays himself, monitoring the phones and taking calls from the viewers.
- Cassandra Truth: Takes many calls from the public as they report things at home becoming increasingly supernatural. Mike becomes concerned about the disturbing calls, implying he believes in what is going on, in comparison to the completely skeptical Michael Parkinson.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: He reports that one viewer called in to say that her dog won't stop barking and that several others are describing instances of their pets becoming very agitated.
- Happily Married: To Sarah Greene.
- Talking Heads: Subverted, since Mike and his call staff are speaking to the public over the phone, rather than face-to-face, though Michael Parkinson and Dr. Pascoe speak with several over speakerphone about their own paranormal experiences.
Craig Charles
Craig Charles
- As Himself: As himself, interviewing the Foxhill Drive locals outside the house, and remains mostly oblivious to the mayhem going on in the house and studio.
- Deadpan Snarker: Provides some much needed snarky comic relief when things get dark and gruesome.
- Friend to All Children: Jovially proceeds to interview two costumed children, but is cut off by further developments in the house.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Is quite jokey and obnoxious about the whole thing, though is smart enough to know when to be quiet and sensitive.
- Jump Scare: Played straight. He pulls one on Sarah early in the show, leaping out of the kitchen closet wearing a werewolf mask.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Provides the light-hearted comedy expected of a BBC show about ghosts.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Disappears for most of the last half-hour of the programme when things start getting freaky. He reappears at the end of the programme when the Earlys are being evacuated from the house.
Doctor Lin Pascoe
Doctor Lin Pascoe
- Played by Gillian Bevan
- Agent Mulder: A firm believer in the Earlys' suffering, having physical, visual, and audible proof of the haunting in Foxhill Drive, despite skepticism from Michael and American psychiatrist Emilio Sylvestri.
- Fiery Redhead: Very adamant and sharp-tongued when it comes to her beliefs and defending the Earlys.
- Gone Horribly Right: Supports the live investigation in the haunting to prove her beliefs are correct. Well, it certainly proves them, particularly when it turns out Mr. Pipes has taken over the broadcast and using it to create a giant séance circle.
- Ignored Expert: Downplayed. When Susie is caught on camera faking Pipe's banging, Parkinson is understandably persuaded of fakery. However, Dr Pascoe (correctly) suspects Susie's sense of obligation to "deliver the goods," and is quickly proven right.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: The abrupt restoration of peace in the house during the final act arouses Lin Pascoe's suspicions, leading to her realisation that the footage is in fact a replay from an hour ago.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Dr Lin Pascoe wants to help vindicate the Earlys by exposing their ghostly tormentor to the entire nation. As she herself realises, the broadcast becomes a massive seance, unleashing the evil spirit on potentially every household that tuned in.
- Science Hero: Dr Lin Pascoe is styled this way. She took on the Early family's case as part of her own ongoing research into the paranormal and regards her work as legitimate, if non-traditional, empirical inquiry.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Flees the studio with the rest of the TV crew when Mr. Pipes invades.
Doctor Emilio Sylvestri
Doctor Emilio Sylvestri
- Played by Colin Stinton
- Agent Scully: Along with Parkinson, he provides the most skepticism towards Pascoe and the haunting.
- Deadpan Snarker: Gets in a good deal of snark in his two scenes.
- Jerkass: Quite smug and self-assured to start with, he gets worse and more unpleasant as the night progresses as, and it seems he was right about it being a hoax.
- Skeptic No Longer: In the short story sequel, after having his face gashed in by Pipes and watching Pipes possess the protagonist.
Chris Miller and Mike Aiton
Chris Miller and Mike Aiton
- As Himself: Both played by an actual BBC cameraman and sound operator. They're even credited as Cameraman and Sound Recordist.
- Camera Abuse: Interference with the sound and visuals increase proportionally with the level of paranormal activity.
- Crazy-Prepared: The house is fitted with timecoded CCTV cameras that can be remotely operated as well as devices for outside monitoring of atmospheric conditions and light frequency. Chris' kit is also capable of thermal imaging.
- Dropped A Mirror On Him: Mike gets a mirror thrown at him just as the TV crew open the Glory Hole to rescue Suzanne.
- Stopped Clock: Chris observes that his watch stopped at 9:30 pm, just as they went on air.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never learn what happened to Chris as his camera feed cuts immediately after Sarah is pulled into the Glory Hole.
The Early Family
Pam, Suzanne, and Kim Early
- Played by Brid Brennan (Pam), Michelle Wesson (Suzanne), Cherise Wesson (Kim)
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The tabloids have written them off as this, though they aren't that far from the truth. Pam is divorced, struggles to pay the bills, and has two clearly disturbed daughters. Oh, and her house is haunted by the ghost of a psychotic pedophile.
- Broken Bird: They are all seriously traumatised, and with good reason.
- Cassandra Truth: The reason the family participate in Ghostwatch is so they can be vindicated by Dr. Pascoe and their story proven to be real. However, when a camera spots Suzanne banging on a wall whilst Sarah is running around looking for the source, Michael immediately dismisses the whole thing as a set-up to get public sympathy. Pam is not pleased with this accusation.
- Creepy Basement: The "Glory Hole" is never seen. Pam explained she once was trapped in the basement and felt she was not alone in there, implied that Mr. Pipes was inside with her. She was so frightened that she boarded the door up. Suzanne somehow ends up trapped inside, forcing the film crew to open the door to rescue her. Sarah is then dragged in whilst looking for Suzanne, and the door slams shut.
- Creepy Child: Both Suzanne and Kim both show symptoms of this. Suzanne is slowly possessed and influenced by Mr. Pipes, speaking in a demonic voice and her body is covered in scratch marks (Michael accusing her of self-abuse, but Pam points out Suzanne has no fingernails). Kim is quite inviting towards Mr. Pipes, telling Sarah to keep the cameras rolling so they see everything. This turns out to be Foreshadowing for Pipes' true goals."Pipes wants to see everyone!"
- Curiosity Killed the Cast: Suzanne is sucked into the Glory Hole and disappears.
- Demonic Possession: Suzanne is a target for Mr. Pipes to possess.
- Disappeared Dad: Pam is divorced and their father is never seen.
- Haunted House / Eldritch Location: The Early house is cleared haunted by Pipes with usual poltergeist activity, but it is slowly implied that the whole of Foxhill Drive is a screwed up breeding ground for the undead.
- I See Dead People: Suzanne has moments of this, and Kim seems to have a direct link to Pipes, acting as his mouthpiece for his true intentions.
- Struggling Single Mother: Pam, which leads to her vilification by the tabloids.
- Tabloid Melodrama: The family are victims of this by the newspapers.
Mr. Pipes
Mr. Pipes / Raymond Tunstall / Mother Seddons
- Played by Keith Ferrari
- Bald of Evil: Kim describes Pipes as bald.
- Big Bad: Mr. Pipes is obviously the main threat as we learn more about him, learning he is actually Raymond Tunstall, a dead pedophile and child abuser who was a lodger of the Earlys house in the 1960s. He claimed he was possessed by a woman and forced to wear dresses. He eventually committed suicide in the Glory Hole, and his face was eaten by his starving cats. It turns he in turn was a victim of Mother Seddons, a baby farmer and child killer from the 1800s. But THEN, it is implied by Dr. Pascoe that they are all just puppets for an ancient Greater-Scope Villain that has inhabited the land around Foxhill Drive for a millennia.
- Black Eyes of Evil / Eyeless Face: Viewers who phone in describe Pipes this way.
- Blow You Away: Used when Pipes gets really riled up.
- Body Horror: When Raymond Turnstall committed suicide, his cats got hungry and ate his face.
- Cat Scare: Played straight, but keep your eye on the reflection in the glass door.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Seen wearing a dark dress, though Pipes' former guidance counselor explains it was because Tunstall thought he was possessed by a woman who forced him to do it. This may in fact be right.
- Driven to Suicide: Hung himself in the Glory Hole.
- Eldritch Abomination: As more insight to Pipes' true nature comes to light, the theory is suggested that whatever it is may have started out as a spiritual entity that even predates humanity.
- Evil Smells Bad: Pam describes an incident where Pipes attacks her, stating he smelt like rotting cabbage.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In-universe, viewers call in to report bizarre things happening in their homes since tuning in. At the end, when Pipes possesses Parkinson, he directly addresses the viewer, saying "You didn't believe the story about Mother Seddons, did you?"
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Several very spooky ones involving Pipes. Perhaps the highlight of the programme, with viewers still looking for possible sightings of Pipes during the broadcast.
- Haunted House: Was a lodger in the Early house thirty years before they moved in, and was haunted in turn by Mother Seddons.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: Round and round the garden...like a teddy bear...one step...two step...
- Meaningful Background Event: If viewers are alert, they may spot Pipes' ghost standing in the background of several scenes during the programme, in the house, out in the neighbourhood, and in the studio itself.
- Merger of Souls: Nineteenth century mass-murdering baby farmer Mother Seddons possessed 1960s child molester Raymond Tunstall; the ghostly figure of "Pipes" seems to manifest both spirits.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: To Kim.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Our ghosts can form onion layers, take control of the BBC, kill people with freakin' cats(!), and possess Michael Parkinson.
- Skull for a Head: As a result of having his face eaten by his cats after his death.
