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Christine Lampard and Matt Richardson are back with another scare fest – but which brave celebrity will be crowned champion ghost-hunter? Gemma Dunn finds out more
THERE’S no denying watching celebrities partake in reality TV is great entertainment – but add to the mix ghostly goings-on and you’ve got a winning formula.
Enter Celebrity Haunted Mansion, the bigger and badder successor to W’s Celebrity Haunted Hotel.
Broadcast live, the UK TV scare-fest – once again hosted by Christine Lampard (nee Bleakley) and Matt Richardson – sees two teams of famous faces, assisted by their paranormal expert team captains, head into a deserted Gothic estate for a total of five fearsome nights.
Each night, there will be a climactic live ghost hunt testing bravery and investigation skills to the limit – whereby two stars will leave the show. Those who survive will battle to reach the final, where one celebrity will be crowned champion ghost-hunter.
One thing’s for sure, Lampard, 39, wouldn’t brave the shadows alone.
“We’ve got people [the crew] with us, which is really crucial,” she states, only too pleased to sideline the action. “Venturing to do tasks and rooms on your own does not do anything for me at all. I would just be dreadful.”
“I think we’re going to push ourselves this year and go and do some bits, though,” chimes Richardson, 26. “Although, Christine is very hesitant about this...”
“I am a little bit funny about it,” she admits. “I believe and that’s enough for me. I don’t need to see something for the confirmation.
“Like years ago, did you ever do Ouija boards and things? See, I would never have done [that].
“Do you remember last time, when they had the Ouija board on the programme?” she asks Richardson. “The reason they’re supposedly so evil is that people don’t know how to shut them down afterwards. If you leave it open, that’s when all the crazy stuff happens. I don’t want any of that crazy stuff!”
While the entire guest line-up is yet to be confirmed, the duo can confirm Katie Price is on board, as is Corrie veteran – and paranormal obsessive – Simon Gregson.
“Katie Price was tweeting during the show last year, asking if we could get her down there,” recalls comedian Richardson. “She basically booked herself on to the show!”
“And we’re really excited about [Simon], purely because you just don’t see him do any of these kind of shows,” adds Lampard.
“He’s never done reality, ever. You hardly see him doing interviews, so to have him involved just because he’s genuinely interested in it is fantastic.”
Though this time the rules are different. Previously, celebs checked in to the spooky lodgings for a night or two. In the reincarnation, well-known names are eliminated each night until there are two left to fight it out.
“Last time we’d have interaction with them in the day too, whereas this time they’re being isolated from everyone,” reveals Richardson.
“They’re filming all night and then sleeping during the day, so they’re not really going to see daylight,” he continues. “And they’re having their phones and everything taken off them, so that’s their world for a week.”
“It’s going to mess with your head,” quips Lampard. “I think from a viewer perspective, it will be really fascinating.”
And there’s no gimmicks – no camera tricks?
“No! Absolutely not,” she shoots back.
“Our problem is the purists,” Richardson says. “Because we’ve turned it into this big entertainment show, people who watch Most Haunted are like, ‘It should be Yvette Fielding in a room with a shaky camera and Derek Acorah doing his voices.’
“Basically we’re mashing together two types of show – Most Haunted and I’m A Celeb... We want to make this hybrid show and that’s the issue.
“People think we’re disrespecting it in some way because we’re not doing it in the way that they think it should be done, which I understand. But you’ve got two things here. People want to see ghosts and weird things happen and people want to see celebrities ‘cack’ their pants.”
“Exactly. It’s worth watching, whether you believe in ghosts or not, just because all the boxes are ticked for it to be a mad show,” agrees Lampard.
“And by the nature of what it is, we’re on standby for anything happening, so it’s very reactive.”
Celebrity Haunted Mansion airs for five nights live on W from Wednesday, February 21.