Ghostsā Larry Rickard Explains Why They Chose the Captainās First Name
Photo: Monumental,Guido Mandozzi
It couldnāt be a joke. That was one rule laid down by the Ghosts creators when it came to choosing a first name for Willbondās character. Until series five, the WWII ghost had been known only as The Captain ā a mystery seized upon by fans of the show.
āIt was the question we got asked more than anything. His name,ā actor and writer Larry Rickard tells Den of Geek. āOnce we got to series three, you could see that we were deliberately cutting away and deliberately avoiding it. We were fuelling the fire because we knew at some point weād tell them.ā
In āCarpe Diemā, the episode written by Rickard and Ben Willbond that finally reveals The Captainās death story, they did tell us. After years of guessing, clue-spotting and debate, Ghosts revealed that The Captainās first name is James. At the same time, we also learned that Jamesā colleague Lieutenant Haversā first name was Anthony.
The ordinariness of those two names, says Rickard, is the point.
āThe only thing we were really clear about is that we didnāt want one of those names that only exists in tellyland. It shouldnāt be āCormoranā or āEndeavourā. They should just be some menās names and theyāre important to them. The point was that they were everyday.ā
Choosing first names for The Captain and Havers was a long process not unlike naming a baby, Rickard agrees. āIt almost comes down to looking at the faces of the characters and saying, whatās right?ā
āWe talked for ages. For a long time I kept thinking āDuncan and Jamesā, and then I was like ah no! That would have turned it into a gag and been awful!ā Inescapably in the minds of a certain generation, Duncan James is a member of noughties boyband Blue. āMaybe with Anthony I was thinking of Anthony Costa!ā Rickard says in mock horror, referencing another member of the band.
Lieutenant Havers wasnāt just The Captainās second in command while stationed at Button House; he was also the man James loved. Because homosexuality was criminalised in England during Jamesā lifetime, he was forced to hide his feelings for Anthony from society, and to some extent even from himself.
In āCarpe Diemā, the ghosts (mistakenly) prepare for the last day of their afterlives, prompting The Captain to finally tell his story. Though not explicit about his sexual identity, the others understand and accept what he tells them ā and led by Lady Button, all agree that heās a brave man.
Getting the balance right of what The Captain does and doesnāt say was key to the episode. āIt wasnāt just a personal choice of his to go āIām going to remain in the closetā,ā explains Rickard. āThere wasnāt an option there to explore the things that either of them felt. That couldnāt be done back then ā there are so many stories which have come out since the War about the dangers of doing that.
āWe wanted to tell his personal story but also try to ensure that there was a level at which you understood why they couldnāt be open, that even in this moment where heās finally telling the other ghosts his story, he never comes out and says it overtly because that would be too much for him as a character from that time.
āHe says enough for them to know, and enough for him to feel unburdened but itās in the fact that theyāre using their first names which militarily they would never have done, and in the literal passing of the batonā.
The baton is a bonus reveal when fans learned that The Captainās military stick wasnāt a memento of his career, but of Havers. As James suffers a fatal heart attack during a VE day celebration at Button House, Anthony rushes to his side and the stick passes from one to the other as they share a moment of tragic understanding.
āFrom really early on, we had the idea that anything youāre holding [when you die] stays with you. So it wasnāt just your clothes you were wearing, we had the stuff with Thomasā letter reappearing in his pocket and so on. And the assumption being that it was something The Captain couldnāt put down, it felt so nice to be able to say it was something he didnāt want to put down.ā
Rickard lists āCarpe Diemā, co-written with Ben Willbond, among his series five highlights. Heās pleased with the end result, praises Willbondās performance, and loved being on set to see Button House dressed for the 1940s. Heās particularly pleased that a checklist of moments they wanted to land with the audience all managed to be included. āNormally somethingās fallen by the wayside just because of the way TVās made, itās always imperfect or itās slightly rushed, but it feels like itās all there.ā
Rickard and Willbond also knew by this point in the showās lifetime, that they could trust Ghosts fans to pick up on small details. āNothing is missed,ā he says. āEarly on, youāre always thinking, is that going to get across? But once we got to series five, there are little tiny things within corners of shots and you know thatās going to be spotted. Particularly in that very short exchange between Havers and the Captain. We worried less about the minutiae of it because you go, thatās going to be rewound and rewatched, nothing will be missed.ā
The team were also grateful theyād resisted the temptation to tell The Captainās story sooner. āWeād talked about it every series since series two, whether or not now was the time, but because heās such a hard and starchy character in a lot of ways you needed the time to understand his softer side I think before you had that final honest beat from him.ā
āWhat a ridiculously normal name to have so much weight put on it for five years,ā laughs Rickard fondly. āGood old James.ā
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