The Cutprice Guignol

Look, when it comes to ghosthunting, I’ll admit that I’m a bit of a sucker.

Which made NightWatch, the new BBC docu-series led by Daisy May and Charlier Cooper, a bit of a no-brainer for me. Following the two siblings as they pottered around the UK, NightWatch chronicles overnights at various purportedly-haunted locations across the country to figure out if any of them actually contained some vestige of the not-of-this-world.

Not that, to be honest, it takes a lot for me to be sold on anything either Charlie or Daisy May Cooper do. After their all-timer collaboration on This Country, Daisy May Cooper’s sensational Am I Being Unreasonable?, and Charlie Cooper’s delightfully quirky Myth Country, I was pretty much seated the moment I heard that this show existed. Two of my favourite British TV creators diving into the ghostlore of the UK? I’d watch them fart through a tablecloth. I’m in.

And it’s great fun, it really is – any kind of non-fiction series focused on something as nebulous as the paranormal relies on the chemistry between the cast to make it pop, and this is no different. The brilliant bickering that any siblings, adult or otherwise, will recognise in an instant is impossibly charming when it’s not your family doing it, and the locations are gorgeous and fascinating in equal measure.

It’s definitely got plenty for ghostlore and history nerds, from fiddling with unique torture devices to a bit of cheerful detectorism, but if you’ve come here for classic ghosthunting show tropes, it’s probably not going to hit. This isn’t people shrieking into the darkness as the radio static sort of spells of “MURDER” if you really squint your ears at it right. The actual instances of the paranormal (or even the supposed presence of it) are thin on the ground here – a few lights flickering, a few doors slamming, a few moments of apparent psychic connection – but honestly, that’s not really the appeal of this show.

Because underneath the ghosthunting and supernatural history, there’s a really warm, unique undertone focused on Charlie and Daisy May Cooper’s relationship with each other. As much as these episodes are about the mythology and history of the places they visit, they’re about the history between these two siblings – spattered with silly little stories and anecdotes of their youth, but underpinned by this sense of joy in reconnection as adults over a childhood passion. I think it’s something a lot of us can relate to, whether in terms of siblings or just in terms of old friends, that feeling of having become a bit disconnected from the parts of yourself that you grew up with, how life and family and children and work can get in the way, and the way these two bridge that gap over the course of these six episodes is such a joy to watch.

NightWatch is a really fun show no matter how you approach it, but the warmth between these two tying it all together is really what makes it a cosy little masterpiece that goes beyond the narrow lens of the premise and into something genuinely brilliant.

If you enjoyed this article and want to see more stuff like it, check out my other blog, No But Listen, as well as my fiction work! You can also support me on Patreon to help keep my very demanding little cat in treaties, and me out of her clutches for another month yet.