Rentaghost

Rentaghost was a British children's television comedy show, broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, which rented out the ghosts for various tasks.^[1]

Background

The company, located in South Ealing, is run by Fred Mumford, a recently deceased loser who feels he can find work for ghosts whose lives were as failed as his. His first (and only) recruits are Timothy Claypole, a mischievous jester with a comical lack of knowledge about modern technology; and Hubert Davenport, a delicate Victorian-era gentleman who is morally shocked by the modern world. The ghosts work from an office, which they rent from Harold Meaker, who discovers the truth about them in the third episode.

Over the course of several series, other characters were added: Hazel the McWitch, a Scottish witch; Nadia Popov, a Dutch ghost who suffers from hay fever and teleports away when she sneezes; and the pantomime horse Dobbin, who first appears in a one-off Christmas special called "Rentasanta" and is brought to life by Claypole, who is unable to cancel the spell afterwards – thus allowing Dobbin to remain in the show for the rest of the run.

Another key figure is a ghost from the Wild West called Catastrophe Kate (cf. Calamity Jane), played by Jana Shelden, who is collected from outside a magic carpet shop in the Spirit World by Fred Mumford. The two ghosts are transported back to Earth on a flying broomstick, Catastrophe Kate having turned down the alternative of a flying vacuum cleaner. It is Catastrophe Kate who later introduces Hazel the McWitch to the regulars.

Adam Painting, a local entrepreneur played by Christopher Biggins, frequently appears in episodes and tries, with limited success, to involve the ghosts in his latest business enterprise.

When actor Michael Darbyshire (who played the role of Davenport) died in 1979, Anthony Jackson (Mumford) declined to appear in the next series, leaving Michael Staniforth's Claypole the sole original ghost; Davenport and Mumford's absences were explained at the start of the series by them having acquired permanent haunting jobs at a stately home. After Mumford's departure, the business was taken over by Harold Meaker and his wife Ethel, who suffered from the various problems the ghosts brought to their lives.

The long-suffering neighbours of Rentaghost are the Perkins, who appear from Series 4 onwards, and think the Meakers are mad.

Remakes

In September 2008, it was reported that the show could be returning to television after the rights to the programme were obtained by the UK production company RDF.^[2] However, no new show was forthcoming.

Deadline reported in December 2010 that "Warner Bros had acquired the rights to RentaGhost and was going to develop it into a Beetlejuice-style afterlife feature comedy vehicle for Russell Brand as Fred Mumford."^[3] However, in October 2011, it was reported that Ben Stiller had now been signed for the project. Night at the Museum writers Tom Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have been hired to write the script, which will reunite the two writers with Stiller.^[4]

Running jokes

In an early series, the Perkins are given a magical amulet that grants all their wishes. They do not realise this, however, and persist in expressing odd wishes, which the amulet then proceeds to grant.

Mrs. Perkins: (referring to Mr. Meaker) I wish he was here now. For two pins, I'd tell him what I think of him!

The amulet is seen glowing. The Meakers knock on the Perkins' door.

Mr. Meaker: (in a strange monotone) Here are two pins.

Mr. Meaker produces two enormous 'prop' pins and hands them to Mrs. Perkins, who accepts them in the same somnambulist way.

Mrs. Perkins: Thank you. Who do you think you are?

Mr. Meaker: Harold

Mr. and Mrs. Meaker: and

Mrs. Meaker: Ethel

Mr. and Mrs. Meaker: Meaker.

The pair bid each other farewell and the Meakers leave. The Perkins return to normal and are confused and somewhat distressed by what has just happened.

One of the more frequent running jokes in the last series was the cellar of the Meakers' house. The house's power was provided by a pantomime dragon called Bernie St. John ("St. John" in this instance is correctly pronounced "Sinjun", making the dragon's name an obvious play on words), who was brought to life by Claypole and served as a furnace. If anyone entered the cellar, all characters present would shout together, "Don't go into the cellar!", and a few moments later whoever went in would return charred and covered in soot.

List of Episodes

DVD releases

Rentaghost Series 1 DVD

Only the first series of Rentaghost has been released on VHS and DVD.

Some master copies of Rentaghost episodes and other children's shows were junked by the BBC Archives in 1993 on the assumption that they were 'no use' and that examples of some other episodes were sufficient. The wiped tapes were then sold overseas to countries that still used obsolete (in the UK at least) tape formats. However, BBC Enterprises had requested copies of the first three series a couple of years earlier and indeed they were showing at the time on UK Gold – these were later recovered by the BBC Archives.

Regular cast

• Anthony Jackson - Fred Mumford (1976–78)
• Michael Darbyshire - Hubert Davenport (1976–78)
• Michael Staniforth - Timothy Claypole (1976–84)
• Betty Alberge - Mrs Mumford (1976–78)
• John Dawson - Mr Mumford (1976–78)
• Edward Brayshaw - Harold Meaker (1976–84)
• Ann Emery - Ethel Meaker (1976–84)
• Christopher Biggins - Adam Painting (1977–84)
• Molly Weir - Hazel the McWitch (1978–84)
• Hal Dyer - Rose Perkins (1978–84)
• Jeffrey Segal - Arthur Perkins (1978–84)
• William Perrie, John Asquith - Dobbin the Pantomime Horse (1978-84)
• Lynda Marchal - Tamara Novek (1980)
• Sue Nicholls - Nadia Popov (1981–84)
• Kenneth Connor - Whatsisname Smith (1983–84)
• Aimi MacDonald - Susie Starlight (1984)

See also

• List of ghost films

References

External links

• Rentaghost at the Internet Movie Database
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• Rentaghost the Musical
• Rentaghost: from worst to best