Kiell Smith-Bynoe: "I Don't Think The BBC Has A Brilliant History In Not Causing Outrage"

Kiell Smith-Bynoe has never been haunted. He's pretty gutted about that, to be honest.

"Oh, I wish," he says. "I’ve had nothing."

Which isn't that surprising if you've caught up on the BBC's sweet, daft sitcom Ghosts, which is back for a second series. Smith-Bynoe's Mike can't see ghosts either. Unfortunately his wife Alison (Charlotte Richie) can, and the eight oddball spectres from throughout history who share the house the couple inherited aren't too happy with these interlopers.

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The first series saw the ghosts trying to oust them; in the second, there's a slightly awkward truce between the living and the dead.

"Now the ghosts aspect is just part of their routine," says Smith-Bynoe. "Mike’s sort of accepted the fact he’s got 10 housemates, but he can only see one of them."

A general lack of haunting up to this point didn't stop Smith-Bynoe trying to see if he could get a look at anything supernatural while filming in the imposing West Horsley Place in Surrey.

"I spent minutes staring into dark rooms in that house, hoping there’d be some sort of apparitions," he says. "Absolutely nothing."

Along with Ghosts, you'll also know Smith-Bynoe as the permanently irritated Dean in Stath Lets Flats, as well as turns in Man Like Mobeen and Enterprice. Right now he's got Stath colleagues Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White's sketch show and a third series of Ghosts in the pipeline, as well as a potential pilot of his own show written over lockdown. But we're here to talk about ghosts.

"I do actually believe that it’s like a gift that you either have or you don’t, and I think if I could see ghosts I would have seen one right now. So I’m at peace with the fact I’m never gonna see one, ‘cause I don’t have the stuff." He thinks. "I’ll see if there’s an online course."

How hard is acting as if you can’t see any of the comedy going on around you?

It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s really difficult, and it doesn’t get easier actually. It gets harder: when I’ve gone away and done other projects, and come back, you haven’t been in practice of ignoring people. So you’re back to, especially in the first week, just forgetting that you can’t see them. But you get back into it, and a lot of the guests who come on the show realise how hard it is, especially when there’s eight of them [ghosts] in the room. And also, spatial awareness and things like that. You would just walk through the space they’re in rather than walking around them. Before we go back into series three I’m going to try ignoring my housemates for a few days.

"If we don’t hear anything about 'Stath', I think we’ll all just get together and do it ourselves"

Were you where you’re at now during lockdown?

I was at my mum’s house and then I moved out two months ago. Fantastic. I don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier. It is great to have my own space and make as much noise as I want and put a glass down without having to put a coaster down sometimes. Which I know is cheeky, but I’ll do it. Yeah, it was difficult to begin with. I’ve lived in the same house my whole life, and I feel like especially over the last three years, the house has shrunk. It felt so small and it was just me and my mum bumping into each other constantly, screwfacing each other on the stairs. Yeah, it was definitely time to get out and get my own space. And now when I invite her round, I can tell her not to put the remote there. It’s got a place.

Did you feel like a kid again?

Oh yeah, big time. I found that I’m always out. That’s the longest time I’ve ever stayed in, ever in my life. Of course [it was like that] for most people, but there was a period where I didn’t leave the house for nine days. I didn’t even go to the shop. I was like, I feel like I’m going mad, but I don’t have the energy to go anywhere. Luckily enough I had quite a big garden, so I’ve been writing most of this time. I’ve written a pilot. Bought a sun lounger from Trespass – other sun loungers are available – sat in the garden and got a lot of work done. It was really different for me because I’m a party boy, really. I still miss the clurb. It was a time of reflection as well, and it was a really good chance to get a lot of things on my to-do list done. And my to-do list goes back to 2013.

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Ghosts and the Horrible Histories team’s other stuff is really warm-hearted and silly, as is Stath Lets Flats. Is that something you gravitate towards?

I think that Ghosts especially, in this series you’ll see a lot more heart in it. We have Mike and Alison falling out at one stage as well, which was really interesting for us to read, because it was a completely different turn from series one as well. And it’s very unexpected, the way it happens, but it’s really well done, and the truth is that you sort of forget you’re watching a young married couple who’ve inherited this thing which is a massive burden. It sounds great to begin with, but then it’s like we’ve got this massive mansion and we can’t really afford to keep it up and she’s battling with her imaginary friends.

"I think the BBC at the moment, especially, should tread very lightly with controversy"

It’s quite easy to forget that these two are going through all this shit, and that obviously it affects their marriage. We get to see that a lot more, but at the same time they’re both really funny. That’s what makes Ghosts a very special show, that what would be the two straight characters are really funny, and you don’t often see that. There’s the silly characters, the jokes, and then you’ve got these two you can relate to. And you can relate to [Mike and Alison], but they’re also funny and they’re written really well. With Stath, every character’s funny as well.

Are you hopeful for a third series of Stath?

I am crossing everything. I think it’s mad that we haven’t heard anything. If we don’t hear anything, I think we’ll all just get together and do it ourselves. Just film it on an iPhone or something. Yeah, I’m really hopeful that that happens real soon, because I miss the guys.

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It seems like there’s a core of people in both shows that really like each other.

I’ve managed to crowbar my way into that group. I used to watch a lot of these guys on YouTube, and I was like: I want in. I crept in like a thief in the night and set up shop. I’m not leaving. They’re stuck with me now, forevz.

Did you see the report about the new BBC director general wanting to do more right-of-centre comedy?

I didn’t know about that. That’s an interesting concept. I mean… I think the BBC at the moment, especially, should tread very lightly with controversy. And I think that if it’s done with the right intentions, and not to cause controversy… I know the theme over the last few years has definitely been that controversy sells. I mean with channels and brands and cancel culture and things like that. I guess cancel culture is a little bit different, because people are really getting cancelled – for real – and that doesn’t sell anything. Especially their tickets. But yeah, if it’s done with the idea that it’s not planning to cause outrage, then I think it’s nice to see variety, I guess. But yeah, I don’t think the BBC has a brilliant history in not causing outrage. If they need me for consultancy I’m available, at a very, very large fee.

Ghosts starts on BBC One on Monday 21 September