Uncanny (radio series) explained

Genre:Paranormal documentary
Presenter:Danny Robins
Country:England
Language:English
Company:Bafflegab Productions & Uncanny Media (radio)
BBC Studios (TV version)
Channel:BBC Radio 4, BBC Two

Uncanny is a BBC Radio series created by Danny Robins featuring explorations of the paranormal and supernatural phenomena, first broadcast in 2021. The series is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and as a podcast on BBC Sounds.[1] A television version for BBC Two was first broadcast on 13 October 2023.[2] [3]

Each episode, Robins interviews a witness who has had an uncanny experience; topics include poltergeists and other ghosts, UFO sightings and cryptids. The story is punctuated by contributions from two experts who attempt to explain the experience; one expert is usually sceptical and will look to a rational psychological or natural explanation, the other will look for parallels with other similar cases.[4] Experts include Caroline Watt, Chris French, Ciarán O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow.[5] The theme tune "Don't Have Nightmares" is by indie band Lanterns on the Lake.[6]

Uncanny has run for three series on radio, plus a number of Uncanny Live specials recorded in front of a live audience.[7] Episodes have featured guests such as Mark Gatiss,[8] Laura Whitmore, Laurence Rickard[9] and David Baddiel.[10] A series of cases exclusively from the United States, Uncanny USA began broadcasting in April 2024.[11]

List of episodes

Series 1

No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes
11The Evil in Room 61123 October 2021A professor recounts a haunting he experienced as a student at Alanbrooke Hall, a demolished Queen's University Belfast hall of residence in the 1970s. Alanbrooke Hall formed the subject of several subsequent episodes as further witnesses contacted the programme.[12] [13]
22The Hanging Room30 October 2021A teenager and her family move to an old farm house in the countryside in search of a new start.[14]
33The Todmorden UFO6 November 2021Policeman Alan Godfrey has a close encounter - could it be connected to an unsolved murder in the area?[15]
44My Best Friend's Ghost13 November 2021A young woman is visited by the ghost of her closest friend.[16]
55Return to Room 61120 November 2021Another witness to the goings on at Alanbrooke Hall tells their story.[17]
66The Brooklyn Poltergeist27 November 2021A British model is made to feel unwelcome by her American flatmates...and the resident poltergeist.[18]
77The Angel in the Bathroom4 December 2021A suicidal man is saved by divine intervention.[19]
88The UFO in the Playground11 December 2021Follows up on the Todmorden UFO case, and features stories of two childhood UFO sightings in Wales and Africa.[20]
99I Will Kill You All18 December 2021Journalist Hannah Betts recounts how her family were terrorised by the legacy of a Victorian murder.[21]
1010Don't Sleep in this House25 December 2021A climber spends a terrifying night at an abandoned cottage in the Scottish Highlands.[22]
1111The Curse of Luibeilt1 January 2022Continuation of previous episode. The climber returns to the cottage to confront the presence.[23]
1212Fatal Collision8 January 2022A delivery driver is involved in a life-changing accident.[24]
1313The Return of Elizabeth Dacre15 January 2022Moving to a large house at the seaside, a young family are haunted by visions of the house's former occupant.[25]
1414The Haunting of Tanfield House22 January 2022An art student is haunted by a poltergeist.[26]
1515Bloody Hell Ken29 January 2022Updates on the cases featured in the series - including Alanbrooke Hall.[27]
16SpecialSummer Special Part 1: Canadian Horror Story25 June 2022Something seems very wrong during a family holiday to a fishing village in Newfoundland.[28]
17SpecialSummer Special Part 2: The Room Next Door2 July 2022Further evidence in the Canadian case from another witness.[29]
18SpecialSummer Special Part 3: Uncanny Live29 July 2022Recorded at the Hay Festival[30]
19SpecialUncanny Meets Ghosts27 September 2022Danny Robins discusses ghosts with special guest Laurence Rickard, co-creator of the sitcom Ghosts.[31]
20SpecialChristmas Special23 December 2022A terrifying encounter for a mother and son in a Scottish council house.[32]
21SpecialUncanny Live with Mark Gatiss30 December 2022With special guest Mark Gatiss[33]

Series 2

No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes
221The Boy in Room 38 April 2023A young woman takes a job as a cook at Ampleforth Abbey and finds herself alone in her accommodation - except for the sound of a crying child.[34]
232My Family's Poltergeist15 April 2023A malevolent poltergeist plagues a family.[35]
243Leave the Lights On22 April 2023Continuation of the previous episode.[36]
254Inside Room 61129 April 2023More evidence from the haunting at Alanbrooke Hall.[37]
265Uncanny Live at UncannyCon6 May 2023With special guest Laura Whitmore. A group of women find themselves with identical bruises after visiting Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.[38]
276An Angel Called Bernie13 May 2023A soldier's life is saved by the ghost of his grandmother.[39]
287The Rendlesham UFO20 May 2023Retired USAF officer Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt recounts his experience in the famous Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980.[40]
298The Guest Book27 May 2023A young couple discover why the previous occupant of their Victorian shop never went upstairs.[41]
309The Beast of Langeais3 June 2023Two backpackers visit the Château de Langeais in France and have a terrifying encounter after dark.[42]
3110Harry Called20 June 2023A student participates in a Ouija board session, and receives a message from "Harry". He is soon plagued by telephone calls and visitations.[43]
3211Uncanny Live at Hay17 June 2023With special guest David Baddiel at the Hay Festival. A London Underground guard sees the ghost of a lost girl at Russell Square station.[44]
3312The Ghost That Followed Us Home24 June 2023A ghostly girl spotted on family holiday to France appears again closer to home.[45]

Series 3

No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes
34SpecialSeason 2 Case Update20 September 2023Looking back on some of the cases from the second series with further evidence.[46]
351The Blue Man30 September 2023The apparition of a blue figure in a bedroom in Wales is witnessed by multiple people over many years.[47]
362Uncle Jack7 October 2023A couple move into a dilapidated cottage - could the footsteps from the floor above be the ghost of a late relative?[48]
37SpecialMiss Howard, The Bearpark Poltergeist and The Oxford Exorcism - Case Update31 October 2023Updates on the three cases in the television adaptation.[49]
383The Ghost Who Hated Parties8 November 2023Three students in Waterford, Ireland find their revelries disturbing a resident spirit.[50]
394Elton’s Phone15 November 2023A child's toy telephone starts ringing in the night, heralding a sequence of increasingly disturbing incidents.[51]
405Double Trouble22 November 2023Two doppelgänger cases are examined - a family from Newcastle witness themselves driving the other way in their classic car, and a disabled woman's suicidal thoughts are ended after seeing a vision of herself as an older woman.[52]
416Good Evening29 November 2023A nurse moves into a regular suburban house with her husband and newborn baby, but keeps hearing the voice of a well-spoken man in her ear.[53]
42SpecialChristmas Special: The Haunting of Daisy May Cooper25 December 2023Danny Robins joins writer and actor Daisy May Cooper to investigate whether her house is haunted.[54] [55]
43SpecialS3 Case Update14 February 2024Updates on the cases from series 3.[56]

Three repeated 'Classic Cases' with new introductions by Laurence Rickard, Daisy May Cooper and Reece Shearsmith were broadcast on 14, 21 and 28 October while the television adaptation was on air.[57]

Series 4: Uncanny USA

No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes
441The Flood30 April 2024A man's Voodoo-practicing aunt dies in Hurricane Katrina. After inheriting her Ouija board, he soon regrets attempting to contact her.[58]
452Dad's Phone7 May 2024A controlling former spy promises to contact his daughter after his death if he can find a way. After his death from cancer, his old phone starts ringing.[59]
463The Platte County Poltergeist14 May 2024A family build their dream house in rural Missouri - but are soon troubled by poltergeist activity and visions of a man in an upstairs bedroom. Can a new house be haunted?[60]
474The Hairy Man21 May 2024Three relatives prospecting for gold in the Alaskan wilderness encounter a tribe of humanoid creatures outside their cabin in the forest. Could it be the legendary Bigfoot?[61]
485The Mystery of Willow Creek28 May 2024Danny visits Willow Creek in Humboldt County, California, the "Bigfoot capital of the world" and hears what happened next in the case from the previous week.[62]
496Series 4 Case Update4 June 2024Updates on some of the cases from series 4.[63]
507The Burnt Man11 June 2024A man is troubled by visions of a charred figure he saw as a child while living in the Mojave Desert.[64]
518What Lies Beyond18 June 2024Double bill. An 911 emergency responder in Maine receives a call warning about a fire that doesn't yet exist. A funeral home in Kansas is troubled by one of its occupants.[65]
529The Labor Day UFO25 June 2024Interviews with multiple witnesses and unwilling participants in the 1969 Labor Day UFO incident in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.[66]
5310Arthur’s House2 July 2024After buying a cottage in the upmarket California town of Montecito a woman finds herself made less than welcome by the ghost of its previous owner.[67]

Television version

A television series for BBC Two was broadcast from Friday 13 October 2023 for three episodes. Each episode is one hour long and features experts from the radio series.[2]

No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes
11Miss Howard13 October 2023Two separate families are troubled by repeated appearances of an Edwardian spectre in a house in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire.[68]
22The Bearpark Poltergeist20 October 2023A boy living in a house in Bearpark, County Durham witnesses poltergeist activity.[69]
33The Oxford Exorcism27 October 2023Three students find their student house in Oxford plagued by an evil spirit.[70]

Stage show

The programme has been adapted into a touring stage show, Uncanny Live which toured the UK in 2024, hosted by Danny Robins with appearances from experts such as Ciarán O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow.[71]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Uncanny. BBC Radio 4. 27 June 2023.
  2. Web site: Uncanny, the spookily successful BBC Radio 4 podcast, commissioned for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. BBC Media Centre. 12 February 2023.
  3. Web site: Bushby. Helen. Danny Robins: Paranormal activity can bring people comfort. BBC News. 1 October 2023.
  4. Web site: The week in audio: Uncanny; Just One Thing; Built to Thrive and more. TheGuardian.com. 20 October 2021.
  5. Web site: Uncanny. Bafflegab Productions. 15 October 2021 . 27 June 2023.
  6. Web site: Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, returns with Uncanny - a new paranormal investigation for BBC Radio 4. BBC Media Centre. 13 October 2021.
  7. Web site: Kelly. Laura. Danny Robins on the return of Uncanny: ghostly monks, poignant poltergeists and famous UFOs. Big Issue. 5 April 2023.
  8. Web site: Uncanny Live with Mark Gatiss. BBC Radio 4. 30 Dec 2022.
  9. Web site: Uncanny Meets Ghosts. BBC Radio 4. 27 September 2022.
  10. Web site: Uncanny Live at Hay. BBC Radio 4. 17 Jun 2023.
  11. Web site: Danny Robins takes BBC Radio 4's smash hit podcast stateside in new Uncanny USA. BBC Media Centre. 4 April 2024.
  12. Web site: The Evil in Room 611. BBC Programmes . 23 October 2021.
  13. Web site: Campbell. Niamh. QUB's haunted halls: More former students share paranormal experiences of university accommodation 40 years ago. Belfast Telegraph. 21 November 2021.
  14. Web site: The Hanging Room. BBC Programmes. 30 October 2021.
  15. Web site: The Todmorden UFO. BBC Programmes. 6 November 2021.
  16. Web site: My Best Friend's Ghost. BBC Programmes. 13 November 2021.
  17. Web site: Return to Room 611. BBC Programmes. 20 November 2021.
  18. Web site: The Brooklyn Poltergeist. BBC Programmes. 27 November 2021.
  19. Web site: The Angel in the Bathroom. BBC Programmes. 4 December 2021.
  20. Web site: The UFO in the Playground. BBC Programmes. 11 December 2021.
  21. Web site: I Will Kill You All. BBC Programmes. 18 December 2021.
  22. Web site: Don't Sleep in this House. BBC Programmes. 25 December 2021.
  23. Web site: The Curse of Luibeilt. BBC Programmes. 1 January 2022.
  24. Web site: Fatal Collision. BBC Programmes. 8 January 2022.
  25. Web site: The Return of Elizabeth Dacre. BBC Programmes . 15 January 2022.
  26. Web site: The Haunting of Tanfield House. BBC Programmes. 22 January 2022.
  27. Web site: Bloody Hell Ken. BBC Programmes. 29 January 2022.
  28. Web site: Summer Special Part 1: Canadian Horror Story. BBC Programmes . 25 June 2022.
  29. Web site: Summer Special Part 2: The Room Next Door. BBC Programmes . 2 July 2022.
  30. Web site: Summer Special Part 3: Uncanny Live. BBC Programmes . 29 July 2022.
  31. Web site: Uncanny Meets Ghosts. BBC Programmes . 27 September 2022.
  32. Web site: Christmas Special. BBC Programmes . 23 December 2022.
  33. Web site: Uncanny Live with Mark Gatiss. BBC Programmes . 30 December 2022.
  34. Web site: The Boy in Room 3. BBC Programmes . 8 April 2023.
  35. Web site: My Family's Poltergeist. BBC Programmes . 15 April 2023.
  36. Web site: Leave the Lights On. BBC Programmes . 6 November 2021.
  37. Web site: Inside Room 611. BBC Programmes . 29 April 2023.
  38. Web site: Uncanny Live at UncannyCon. BBC Programmes . 6 May 2023.
  39. Web site: An Angel Called Bernie. BBC Programmes . 13 May 2023.
  40. Web site: The Rendlesham UFO. BBC Programmes . 20 May 2023.
  41. Web site: The Guest Book. BBC Programmes . 11 December 2021.
  42. Web site: The Beast of Langeais. BBC Programmes . 3 June 2023.
  43. Web site: Harry Called. BBC Programmes . 20 June 2023.
  44. Web site: Uncanny Live at Hay. BBC Programmes . 17 June 2023.
  45. Web site: The Ghost That Followed Us Home. BBC Programmes . 24 June 2023.
  46. Web site: Season 2 Case Update. BBC Programmes . 20 September 2023.
  47. Web site: The Blue Man. BBC Programmes . 30 September 2023.
  48. Web site: Uncle Jack. BBC Programmes . 7 October 2023.
  49. Web site: Miss Howard, The Bearpark Poltergeist and The Oxford Exorcism - Case Update. BBC Programmes . 31 October 2023.
  50. Web site: The Ghost Who Hated Parties. BBC Programmes . 8 November 2023.
  51. Web site: Elton's Phone. BBC Programmes . 15 November 2023.
  52. Web site: Double Trouble. BBC Programmes . 22 November 2023.
  53. Web site: Good Evening. BBC Programmes . 29 November 2023.
  54. Web site: Christmas Special. BBC Programmes . 25 December 2023.
  55. Web site: BBC Radio and Sounds delivers a Christmas cracker of a schedule for listeners this festive period. BBC Media Centre. 27 November 2023.
  56. Web site: Bonus Episode: Uncanny S3 Case Update. BBC Programmes . 14 February 2024.
  57. Web site: Episode list. BBC Programmes . 5 December 2023.
  58. Web site: Case 1: The Flood. BBC Programmes . 30 May 2024.
  59. Web site: Case 2: Dad's Phone. BBC Programmes . 7 May 2024.
  60. Web site: Case 3: The Platte County Poltergeist. BBC Programmes . 14 May 2024.
  61. Web site: Case 4: The Hairy Man Poltergeist. BBC Programmes . 21 May 2024.
  62. Web site: Case 5: The Mystery of Willow Creek. BBC Programmes . 28 May 2024.
  63. Web site: Case 6: Case Update. BBC Programmes . 3 June 2024.
  64. Web site: Case 7: The Burnt Man. BBC Programmes . 11 June 2024.
  65. Web site: Case 8: What Lies Beyond. BBC Programmes . 18 June 2024.
  66. Web site: Case 9: The Labor Day UFO. BBC Programmes . 25 June 2024.
  67. Web site: Case 10: Arthur’s House. BBC Programmes . 2 July 2024.
  68. Web site: Miss Howard. BBC Programmes . 13 October 2023.
  69. Web site: The Bearpark Poltergeist. BBC Programmes . 20 October 2023.
  70. Web site: The Oxford Exorcism. BBC Programmes . 27 October 2023.
  71. Web site: Uncanny Live. Danny Robins. 12 June 2024.

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