The Ghosts of Motley Hall

- Season 3

(1978)

There's no Christmas spirit at Motley Hall this year. In fact, the resident ghosts have decided that there will be no Christmas, period! Their self-imposed isolation from each other is suddenly and noisily interrupted by the arrival of two older women and a teenage girl that Matt decides need to be sheltered from the cold weather. The three new people, our five resident ghosts, and the surprising appearance of a Genie makes Christmas much more spirited than they ever could have imagined!

American couple Darlene and Marvin Dewey (Annie Ross and Ed Devereux) are trying to trace Darlene's family tree; Sir George's brother, Albert, married Darlene's great, great grandmother, his older sister Alexandra never married but family legend told that his younger sister, Clara, eloped with an American and Mrs. Dewey wants to find out if this is true. She has all sorts of gadgets to get in touch with spirits as she wants to ask Sir George.

A film crew descend on Motley Hall as historian, St John Desmond (played by Nicholas Le Provost who plays Francis 'Fanny' Uproar throughout) details the history for School television, but as they portray incidents from Motley's past, the ghosts notice that the historian has it wrong. Can they, with the help of faithful Gudgin (Peter Sallis), set the record straight before the name of Uproar is blackened forever?

The other ghosts feel that Sir George is becoming a tyrant and want to teach him some humility. Sir George seems to have an adverse reaction to his sister, Alexandra's croquet mallet. The ghosts wonder what the story is behind this and if it can help them get out from under George's rule.

Alexandra Uproar (Joan Sanderson), is snobbish towards the other ghosts and bosses over Sir George; Matt has an idea of how to get her out of the hall, if Sir George can do what is required.

Gudgin installs a piano in the hall and the ghosts plan a night of musical entertainment. The piano once belonged to composer, Ludwig Stumpf (John Ringham, who has also guested before as a potential buyer of the hall) and he doesn't want anyone else; dead or alive, to play it.

Gudgin is doing a spot of gardening and digs up an old bell buried by highwayman Captain Narcissus Bullock (Michael Elphick); (a former companion of Francis 'Fanny' Uproar. If the bell is rung it banishes ghosts. Narcissus wants to ring it so that he and Fanny can preside over the hall and entertain all sorts of unscrupulous spirits, but the other ghosts are Fanny's friends.