Ghosts Christmas Special 2023 provides a sweet series close for our beloved Button House occupants, writes GEMMA JOHNSON
Review of BBC Ghosts Christmas Special 2023
I had already said my goodbyes at the end of season 5 and come to terms with the end of Ghosts. I felt that the final episode was the perfect ending and so the idea of the Christmas episode filled me with some trepidation – would this be an episode too far? For me it was, and I am writing this review through tears, it was heart-breaking, be warned you will need tissues to hand when you watch this.
This being several months on, we find that baby Mia has arrived, and Alison and Mike are trying to settle into new parenthood accompanied by Mike’s interfering mother, Betty. I do not like Betty; I will circle back to that in a moment.
The ghosts have responded with varying levels of neediness in response to the new arrival. Kitty is like a pouting sibling desperately trying to get attention, Thomas has regressed back into brooding poet mode, Fanny is sharing misguided parenting tips whilst Captain and Pat have embraced baby talk in an attempt to bond with baby Mia.
And what of Robin you ask? Well, he is most perplexed because he can’t find his Christmas spirit, it is his favourite time of the year, but he just isn’t ‘in the festive zone’ this year. His fellow spooks, Alison, and Mike (following the direction of Alison) try to help Robin but to little avail.
Betty. Betty. Betty. She overstays her welcome – by several weeks. Personally, I found her more and more annoying as the episode progressed but that was very much the aim of her character.
We finally see her getting ready to leave when she spots something on the baby monitor camera, I won’t say what or who but needless to say she decides that the house is haunted and therefore it needs an exorcism. Insert many expletives here by way of my reaction to seeing her barge through the house with a priest and watching the ghosts frantically panic.
The aftermath of the exorcism, and Betty’s departure (thank goodness!) leads to some open, difficult, and frank discussions with the end result being that Alison, Mike and Baby Mia move on from Button Hall. But… the decision wasn’t really made by them and that is what made this so emotional.
I was perfectly happy with the idea of Alison, Mike and new baby living at Button Hall alongside the ghosts. Being one unique extended family. It was tied into a nice, smooth, happy ending and that sat well with me. This felt more like a painful plaster being pulled off. But… it was exceptionally well written in true Ghosts fashion.
Takeaway lessons from this episode. Christmas isn’t necessarily about tinsel, trees and lights; that festive feeling can come from the most surprising of places. And a warning as we enter the post-Christmas sales – don’t online shop when you are sleep deprived, or full of Christmas ‘spirits’ because expectation might not live up to reality.
Tell us your thoughts about this year’s BBC Ghosts Christmas Special 2023 in the comment section below!
