Sources: BBC / BBC America
Lenora Crichlow plays insecure ghost Annie, who meets George and Mitchell when they move into the flat she shared with her fiancé – which she subsequently died in. When she first read the scripts Lenora was intrigued by the idea behind it. "It was pitched to me by my agent as a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire sharing a house, and I thought 'that's a bit out there!'" But the combination of an original story grounded firmly in real life immediately impacted on Lenora. "I thought it was really funny and it was a script with heart. It's really quirky and light in some places, but it's got quite a dark undertone. It's just a really fresh take on dealing with life." Lenora believes that the characters are also very appealing, and that everyone will be able to tap into some part of each of them. "All the characters' unusual qualities are grounded in real stuff , addiction, self-esteem, anger, love, all of them are dealing with being human just on a really extreme scale." Lenora's character Annie goes on a major journey throughout the series, as she explains.
"Annie's very unsure when we first meet her. She's confined by routine and other people's approval, and she's quite insecure and vulnerable, and a little bit needy because she's at the whim of so many things outside of herself. "But slowly as the story unfolds she has to start to toughen up and prove herself. It's a really nice journey and one I think a lot of women will relate to." Annie and Mitchell share a very strong relationship which Lenora describes as almost paternal. "Mitchell is the father figure or older brother of the house, he's kind of in charge and Annie looks to him to make sure everything's ok. He gives her a lot of reassurance and she feels safe in his presence. He's so old, he's been there, done it all, he seems to be a bit more knowing. He's there for Annie, he's her rock." Lenora can't really say the same for Annie's relationship with her other flatmate, George, which doesn't start off on the best footing. "Annie's relationship with George starts off a bit tetchy, if there was a family dynamic they would be brother and sister. There's some bickering at first and they're sussing each other out. Then I think there's a pivotal scene where they are there for each other and put their differences aside, they find a common ground and can just relate to each other. They need each other now because no one else really gets it or understands." Throughout the series Annie meets another ghost called Gilbert and another werewolf called Tully, and both characters teach her more about herself. "She's really charmed and bowled over at the beginning by Tully, just the attention from a guy who's a very alpha-male type character, she gets a bit flustered." "Her relationship with Gilbert is something a lot more tender , it's a friendship, it's not a crude thing at all. Annie has to let Gilbert go eventually and it's quite soft and tender and sweet, it's a different type of love." On working with Aidan Turner (Mitchell) and Russell Tovey (George), Lenora says: "They're wicked! I couldn't ask for two better guys to be working with. We spend time together off set and on set – they're both brilliant and I love watching their work. I think we really have a lovely chemistry – I'm going to stop gushing now!"