Celebrity Haunted Mansion Live
Celebrity Haunted Mansion was the second series following on from Celebrity Haunted Hotel.
Being set in Woodchester Mansion I was pleased to be offered the role as one of the paranormal consultants following a successful ghost hunt of the building with production staff from the UKTV channel ‘W'
The series was broadcast live over 5 nights from Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th February and consisted of 10 Celebrity contestants hoping to win the coveted prize of the ‘golden gargoyle' presented for best ghost hunter as voted on by the viewers of the show.
The celebrities were split into 2 teams led by special guest paranormal investigators Jack Osbourne (Haunted Highway) and Jason Hawes (Ghost Hunters)
The show was presented by the lovely Christine Lampard and the sister show, High Spirits, presented by the equally lovely Matt Richardson.
The paranormal consultant team were myself, Barri Ghai, Eamonn Van-Harris, psychic medium Ryan Gooding.
Joining the team for some numerology was Katie Keeley celebrity psychic medium.
The Celebrities in order of eviction from the mansion were as follows:-
Lydia Bright
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
Getting stuck in a room by myself in the pitch black. That would freak me out.
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
My mum says that when I was younger, every morning when she'd try to get me out of my cot I'd tell her "the yaydy tried to get me". So my mum is convinced that when I was a baby, I always used to see a lady ghost come to my cot. But I can't remember that.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
There are some things I completely believe in, like spirits, but then other things I just think are completely crazy - like those dolls that come alive at nighttime. So it kind of depends.
Mark Francis
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
The only thing I'm truly terrified of is having to spend time with people I really don't like in the middle of nowhere. So let's just hope they're amicable.
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
I adore the paranormal, ghosts are perhaps my best friends. I'm sure I'm going to have a wonderful time with them.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
I believe in ghosts because there is nothing not to believe in. They are everywhere and they are my close friends, why be sceptical?
Anthony Ogogo
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
I can imagine myself getting a bit animated if I get jumped out on from nowhere, or if I can feel something touching my body and I can't see it. But I'm intrigued to find out what's in store for me.
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
In my childhood house we had a ghost called Isabella. She'd lived in our house 150 years before and ended up dying in a fire. And my sister made friends with her!
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
I Am A.Believer!
Luisa Zissman
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
I'm most scared of being touched by something in the mansion, like a ghost.
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
When I was younger I did a Ouija board and the glass definitely moved, it really freaked me out.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
Predominantly I'm a believer, but some things I'm quite sceptical about. I'm not sure about ghosts, but I definitely believe in mediums, and that there's a higher power, because when you die your spirit has to go somewhere.
Katie Price
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
If I actually see a ghost, feel a ghost, or if I do something that a ghost will copy, like a knock. Something needs to convince me!
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
I like to try Ouija boards, I do things with candles, I chant spirits, I do everything I can! All I wanna do is hear something and be convinced.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
I'd like to say I'm a believer because I do try things, and things do happen, but I'm still not convinced.
Jorgie Porter
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
I don't want any poltergeists throwing anything at my head! I also don't want a Whoopi Goldberg situation, where a ghost goes inside my body and I become someone else.
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
Things thrown off a bookshelf, being thrown around my house. That's weird isn't it?
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
I'm a believer but I've never seen anything, so I want to see something happen.
Alison Hammond
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
The first time someone dies and goes into the other world! That would be awful, especially if it was me!
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
I swear I hear something banging around or running around upstairs when there's no one else in the house.
What sort of team player will you be / what skills will you bring to the table?
I'm quite a shy and retiring person! Not a lot of people know that I've got a really good laugh, which I think might actually scare the ghosts off.
Jay Hutton
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
Getting started on by something you can't see!
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
I've taken some pictures and seen some orbs, but other than that I'm looking forward to getting into the mansion and seeing what happens in there.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
Being a believer, you're more susceptible to things happening, and I think I've got a friendly face so they'll want to speak to me.
Simon Webbe
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
Actually seeing a ghost! I mean, I wanna see one, but do I really?
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
Where I live is meant to be haunted. I've had a couple of family members and friends say they've witnessed certain things. So I should be used to this.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
I don't wanna say I'm diplomatic or sitting on the fence - I think I'd say I'm a believer.
Which left our champion ghost hunter Simon Gregson
What are you most scared of happening in the mansion?
A ghoulie following me home. I don't want ghoulies in my house, I don't want ghoulies in my face, I don't want it anywhere near me.
Have you had any experiences with the paranormal already?
I lived in a flat that was haunted, I could hear breathing, there was someone sat on the edge of my bed. And our house at the moment is haunted by a woman in white.
What sort of team player will you be / what skills will you bring to the table?
I've watched Bill Murray in Ghostbusters many, many times, so I'm gonna channel Bill Murray for this!
If you could pick 1 other person (famous or not, dead or alive) to go into the mansion with you, who would it be?
Cookie, my dog! She'd be able to tell me if there's any spooky stuff going on before it actually happens and give me time to get out of there
Similarly, who's the WORST person you can think of to go into the mansion with?
Alan Halsall, who plays Tyrone (in Coronation Street), because he's a total wuss-bag.
Are you a believer or a sceptic?
I'm in the middle between believer and sceptic - having had experiences, but not really knowing whether I've had them.
Congratulations to Simon who I thought was a deserved winner. Chatting to Simon he has a massive interest in the paranormal and some great personal ghost stories. I won't share them here as they are his stories and I wouldn't want to get the details mixed up.
So a fair sized cast and a monumental task of broadcasting the show live to the nation fell onto a team of approximately 150 people! Now those of you who know the mansion will realise that space outside is at a premium but what the production team achieved was nothing short of a miracle as every available space was used except for the areas of the mansion where the investigations took place.
Just to give you an idea of the layout we had the cast accomodation and hospitality out front with the satellite broadcast van.
Around the back of the mansion we had the offices and editing rooms.....
.....and of course the main studio where all the presentation came from was the transformed mansion drawing room where the shows High Spirits and Celebrity Mansion Live were broadcast from.
This show was a pleasure to work on with no expense spared to bring the show to life but what needs explaining which might not be apparent is that while there was a huge crew on sight and yes this may have got in the way of the live investigations between 9pm and 11pm. This wasn't the case for the night time vigils.
Bus and transport start the ferrying of Live Show production staff.
After the live show ended buses and other transport came down the track to take the production crew back to the various hotels used accross the county. This left a very small film crew of 2 camera men, a soundman and 2 production staff with Team Jack and Team Jason. So the live ghost hunt segments were filmed as a proper ghost hunt. I was lucky enough to take part in Saturday nights investigation of the chapel with Team Jason and was impressed with how this was carried out and even more impressed with how the celebrities took this seriously.
I must say that it was great working with a new investigation team of Barri Eamonn and Ryan as we had some great discussions and debates on set about investigation techniques and new ideas. Some of these were featured and its massive kudos for Eamonn to have succesfully transported his monster of a machine 'The Pegasus' all the way from Wigan in a BMW estate. I couldn't resist the ITC experiment alongside it! We are reviewing some videos from the screen recordings at the moment so I will update this blog if anything has been captured.
I hope you all enjoyed the show but for now I will sign off with a picture of the mad proffessor himself.
Chris Howley 2018 #CelebHaunted
