Sir Walter really? Mystery of historic head in the attic
HIT BBC sitcom Ghosts had to contend with its own spooky find when a skull, purportedly belonging to famous explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, was discovered in an attic.
Simon Farnaby, one of the show’s writers and actors, said the bones were found in a red velvet bag at the end of filming the first series in 2018. The grim discovery was made at West Horsley Place in Surrey, which doubles as fictional Button House.
“In a nutshell,” said Farnaby, “the wife kept her husband’s head in a bag after he was beheaded.
“We’re talking about the 1600s. She kept it around her waist. We’d heard a rumour about this and then they found this head in the attic.”
Raleigh – a writer, courtier and explorer – was executed in 1618.
His head was given to his wife while his body was buried in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey.
Sir Walter’s son Carew lived in West Horsley Place from the 1640s.
Farnaby added: “Of course we have a headless guy in the show – Humphrey’s Head – and fans think it was inspired by this but it wasn’t.
“We just thought, ‘You’ve got to have a headless ghost’, and then we found out about the bag in the attic.”
Ghosts returns for a Christmas special on December 23. In the show, Farnaby’s trouserless Tory MP Julian Fawcett has an epiphany over his past in the 1990s.
He explained: “Julian has a lot of flaws. He is a politician, but he’s not a very principled one. He likes drinking and the ladies.”
The writers even managed to squeeze in a joke on the European Union which stood the test of time.
“It was a topical joke we wrote in October last year. It was funny then, but then we thought we’d better not because it won’t be funny this time next year around Christmas.
“I said, ‘No, put it in because I bet it will still be rumbling on’.
“So we put in the words from Julian to his wife, “You will never have to hear the words ‘European Union’ ever again!
“Ironically, in the early 90s the Conservatives were leading the way back into Europe.”
When asked who Julian is based on, he replied: “He’s a mix really.
“He’s a bit Tony Blair in terms of the speech patterns and there’s a bit of David Cameron in there too.
“It’s all good fun. We’ve got to get something out of politicians.”
Ghosts also stars Katy Wix, Lolly Adefope, Charlotte Ritchie and Timmika Ramsay.