Uncanny (franchise)
Supernatural investigation radio and television series
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Uncanny is a BBC radio and television series created by Danny Robins featuring explorations of the paranormal and supernatural phenomena, first broadcast in 2021. The radio 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] The format has also been adapted as a touring stage show[4] and since 2025 the television series has been accompanied by a visual podcast discussion called Uncanny: Post Mortem broadcast in both TV and podcast formats.[5]
| Uncanny | |
|---|---|
The show's host Danny Robins (centre) and experts Ciaran O'Keeffe (left) and Evelyn Hollow | |
| Genre | Paranormal documentary |
| Presented by | Danny Robins |
| Country of origin | England |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production companies | Bafflegab Productions & Uncanny Media (radio) BBC Studios (TV version) |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Radio 4, BBC Two |
| Release | 23 October 2021 |
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.[6] This is characterised in the series as "Team Sceptic" and "Team Believer".[7] Experts include Caroline Watt, Chris French, Ciarán O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow.[8] The theme tune "Don't Have Nightmares" is by indie band Lanterns on the Lake.[9]
Uncanny has run for five series on radio, plus a number of Uncanny Live specials recorded in front of a live audience and various Christmas and Halloween specials.[10] Special episodes have featured guests such as Mark Gatiss,[11] Laura Whitmore, Laurence Rickard[12] and David Baddiel.[13] The fourth series, Uncanny USA, featured cases exclusively from the United States and was broadcast from April 2024.[14] A series examining famous supernatural cases from the past, Uncanny: Cold Cases was broadcast in 2026.[15]
Radio episodes
Series 1
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | The Evil in Room 611 | 23 October 2021 | A 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.[16][17] |
| 2 | 2 | The Hanging Room | 30 October 2021 | A teenager and her family move to an old farm house in the countryside in search of a new start.[18] |
| 3 | 3 | The Todmorden UFO | 6 November 2021 | Policeman Alan Godfrey has a close encounter - could it be connected to an unsolved murder in the area?[19] |
| 4 | 4 | My Best Friend's Ghost | 13 November 2021 | A young woman is visited by the ghost of her closest friend.[20] |
| 5 | 5 | Return to Room 611 | 20 November 2021 | Another witness to the goings on at Alanbrooke Hall tells their story.[21] |
| 6 | 6 | The Brooklyn Poltergeist | 27 November 2021 | A British model is made to feel unwelcome by her American flatmates...and the resident poltergeist.[22] |
| 7 | 7 | The Angel in the Bathroom | 4 December 2021 | A suicidal man is saved by divine intervention.[23] |
| 8 | 8 | The UFO in the Playground | 11 December 2021 | Follows up on the Todmorden UFO case, and features stories of two childhood UFO sightings in Wales and Africa.[24] |
| 9 | 9 | I Will Kill You All | 18 December 2021 | Journalist Hannah Betts recounts how her family were terrorised by the legacy of a Victorian murder.[25] |
| 10 | 10 | Don't Sleep in this House | 25 December 2021 | A climber spends a terrifying night at an abandoned cottage in the Scottish Highlands.[26] |
| 11 | 11 | The Curse of Luibeilt | 1 January 2022 | Continuation of previous episode. The climber returns to the cottage to confront the presence.[27] |
| 12 | 12 | Fatal Collision | 8 January 2022 | A delivery driver is involved in a life-changing accident.[28] |
| 13 | 13 | The Return of Elizabeth Dacre | 15 January 2022 | Moving to a large house at the seaside, a young family are haunted by visions of the house's former occupant.[29] |
| 14 | 14 | The Haunting of Tanfield House | 22 January 2022 | An art student is haunted by a poltergeist.[30] |
| 15 | 15 | Bloody Hell Ken | 29 January 2022 | Updates on the cases featured in the series - including Alanbrooke Hall.[31] |
| 16 | Special | Summer Special Part 1: Canadian Horror Story | 25 June 2022 | Something seems very wrong during a family holiday to a fishing village in Newfoundland.[32] |
| 17 | Special | Summer Special Part 2: The Room Next Door | 2 July 2022 | Further evidence in the Canadian case from another witness.[33] |
| 18 | Special | Summer Special Part 3: Uncanny Live | 29 July 2022 | Recorded at the Hay Festival[34] |
| 19 | Special | Uncanny Meets Ghosts | 27 September 2022 | Danny Robins discusses ghosts with special guest Laurence Rickard, co-creator of the sitcom Ghosts.[35] |
| 20 | Special | Christmas Special | 23 December 2022 | A terrifying encounter for a mother and son in a Scottish council house.[36] |
| 21 | Special | Uncanny Live with Mark Gatiss | 30 December 2022 | With special guest Mark Gatiss[37] |
Series 2
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 1 | The Boy in Room 3 | 8 April 2023 | A 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.[38] |
| 23 | 2 | My Family's Poltergeist | 15 April 2023 | A malevolent poltergeist plagues a family.[39] |
| 24 | 3 | Leave the Lights On | 22 April 2023 | Continuation of the previous episode.[40] |
| 25 | 4 | Inside Room 611 | 29 April 2023 | More evidence from the haunting at Alanbrooke Hall.[41] |
| 26 | 5 | Uncanny Live at UncannyCon | 6 May 2023 | With special guest Laura Whitmore. A group of women find themselves with identical bruises after visiting Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.[42] |
| 27 | 6 | An Angel Called Bernie | 13 May 2023 | A soldier's life is saved by the ghost of his grandmother.[43] |
| 28 | 7 | The Rendlesham UFO | 20 May 2023 | Retired USAF officer Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt recounts his experience in the famous Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980.[44] |
| 29 | 8 | The Guest Book | 27 May 2023 | A young couple discover why the previous occupant of their Victorian shop never went upstairs.[45] |
| 30 | 9 | The Beast of Langeais | 3 June 2023 | Two backpackers visit the Château de Langeais in France and have a terrifying encounter after dark.[46] |
| 31 | 10 | Harry Called | 20 June 2023 | A student participates in a Ouija board session, and receives a message from "Harry". He is soon plagued by telephone calls and visitations.[47] |
| 32 | 11 | Uncanny Live at Hay | 17 June 2023 | With special guest David Baddiel at the Hay Festival. A London Underground guard sees the ghost of a lost girl at Russell Square station.[48] |
| 33 | 12 | The Ghost That Followed Us Home | 24 June 2023 | A ghostly girl spotted on family holiday to France appears again closer to home.[49] |
Series 3
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Special | Season 2 Case Update | 20 September 2023 | Looking back on some of the cases from the second series with further evidence.[50] |
| 35 | 1 | The Blue Man | 30 September 2023 | The apparition of a blue figure in a bedroom in Wales is witnessed by multiple people over many years.[51] |
| 36 | 2 | Uncle Jack | 7 October 2023 | A couple move into a dilapidated cottage - could the footsteps from the floor above be the ghost of a late relative?[52] |
| 37 | Special | Miss Howard, The Bearpark Poltergeist and The Oxford Exorcism - Case Update | 31 October 2023 | Updates on the three cases in the television adaptation.[53] |
| 38 | 3 | The Ghost Who Hated Parties | 8 November 2023 | Three students in Waterford, Ireland find their revelries disturbing a resident spirit.[54] |
| 39 | 4 | Elton's Phone | 15 November 2023 | A child's toy telephone starts ringing in the night, heralding a sequence of increasingly disturbing incidents.[55] |
| 40 | 5 | Double Trouble | 22 November 2023 | Two 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.[56] |
| 41 | 6 | Good Evening | 29 November 2023 | A 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.[57] |
| 42 | Special | Christmas Special: The Haunting of Daisy May Cooper | 25 December 2023 | Danny Robins joins writer and actor Daisy May Cooper to investigate whether her house is haunted.[58][59] |
| 43 | Special | S3 Case Update | 14 February 2024 | Updates on the cases from series 3.[60] |
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.[61]
Series 4: Uncanny USA
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 1 | The Flood | 30 April 2024 | A man's Voodoo-practicing aunt dies in Hurricane Katrina. After inheriting her Ouija board, he soon regrets attempting to contact her.[62] |
| 45 | 2 | Dad's Phone | 7 May 2024 | A 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.[63] |
| 46 | 3 | The Platte County Poltergeist | 14 May 2024 | A 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?[64] |
| 47 | 4 | The Hairy Man | 21 May 2024 | Three 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?[65] |
| 48 | 5 | The Mystery of Willow Creek | 28 May 2024 | Danny 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.[66] |
| 49 | 6 | Series 4 Case Update | 4 June 2024 | Updates on some of the cases from series 4.[67] |
| 50 | 7 | The Burnt Man | 11 June 2024 | A man is troubled by visions of a charred figure he saw as a child while living in the Mojave Desert.[68] |
| 51 | 8 | What Lies Beyond | 18 June 2024 | Double 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.[69] |
| 52 | 9 | The Labor Day UFO | 25 June 2024 | Interviews with multiple witnesses and unwilling participants in the 1969 Labor Day UFO incident in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.[70] |
| 53 | 10 | Arthur's House | 2 July 2024 | After 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.[71] |
Halloween: Trilogy of Terror
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Special | Halloween Special with Stewart Lee | 29 October 2024 | Danny is joined by comedian Stewart Lee to examine some spooky cases; a man tells the story of a child being physically moved by a ghost near Loch Ness, a man recalls sharing a dream with Rick Astley, a man's father is terrorised by Black Shuck in The Fens and a woman experiences a time slip back to a World War II pub.[72] |
| 55 | Special | Halloween Special: Meadow Cottage Part 1 | 5 November 2024 | A family are terrorised in their 200-year-old house in the Lake District.[73] |
| 56 | Special | Halloween Special: Meadow Cottage Part 2 | 12 November 2024 | The story of Meadow Cottage continued.[74] |
Halloween Countdown
A series of short cases from listeners' emails released daily on BBC Sounds in the run-up to Halloween 2024, beginning on 1 October 2024.[75]
Uncanny Christmas
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | Special | Return to Luibeilt | 25 December 2024 | In series one, Phil recounted a terrifying night spent in a haunted climber's bothy at Luibeilt in the Scottish Highlands. Fifty years later, Danny and his producer join Phil on a hike to spend the night at the ruined bothy and record their experiences.[76] |
| 58 | Special | Uncanny Live with Reece Shearsmith | 3 January 2025 | Actor and writer Reece Shearsmith joins Danny for an episode recorded at UncannyCon at the Royal Festival Hall.[77] |
Uncanny Summer Specials 2025
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | Special | The Torrelaguna House Part 1 | 10 June 2025 | A former soldier staying at a medieval mansion in Torrelaguna, Spain sees a terrifying creature on his bed.[78] |
| 59 | Special | The Torrelaguna House Part 2 | 17 June 2025 | Further witnesses attest to the strange goings on at the house.[79] |
| 60 | Special | Uncanny Live at the Hay Festival 2025 | 24 June 2025 | Danny is joined by Ciaran O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow for a recording made at the Hay Festival 2025.[80] |
Halloween Advent Calendar
New short cases from listeners every day during October 2025.
Series 5
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 1 | The Haunted Street – Halloween Special | 31 October 2025 | A woman moves into a Georgian terrace in Bath and starts experiencing strange phenomenon - enquiries to her neighbours find she is not alone.[81] |
| 62 | 2 | Old Jim | 4 November 2025 | A teenage girl and her mother enter a battle of nerves with a former resident of a remote Yorkshire farmhouse.[82] |
| 63 | 3 | The Devil's Den UFO | 11 November 2025 | A camping trip to Arkansas ends with an out of this world encounter.[83] |
| 64 | 4 | Road Ghosts | 18 November 2025 | Two police officers encounter a terrifying roadside apparition in Kent.[84] |
| 65 | 5 | The Goth Poltergeist | 25 November 2025 | A student house in Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, becomes the centre of supernatural activity.[85] |
| 66 | 6 | Impossible Encounters | 2 December 2025 | The pick of the creepiest stories told by audience members of the Uncanny Live tour.[86] |
| 67 | 7 | The Magnet | 9 December | A young solicitor moves to London, but immediately regrets her decision.[87] |
| 68 | 8 | Revenants and Revelations | 16 December 2025 | Updates on some of the earlier cases in the series.[88] |
| 69 | 9 | Christmas Casebook with Diane Morgan | 23 December 2025 | Comedian and actor Diane Morgan reveals her own supernatural encounters.[89] |
| 70 | 10 | The Priest Hole | 30 December 2025 | Renovations on an Elizabethan house reveal a priest hole and increasingly disturbing apparitions.[90] |
Uncanny: Cold Cases
In Uncanny: Cold Cases, some famous supernatural cases from the past are re-examined. As well as broadcasts on BBC Sounds and Radio 4, Cold Cases launched a dedicated Uncanny YouTube channel.[91][92] The theme song "Secrets Still Remain" was written and performed by folk singer Katherine Priddy.[93]
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 1 | The Black Monk of Pontefract | 7 April 2026 | Re-examining the notorious 1960s poltergeist case in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.[94] |
| 72 | 2 | Return to East Drive | 14 April 2026 | Part 2 of the Pontefract poltergeist case - events take a violent turn.[95] |
| 73 | 3 | The White Mountain UFO | 21 April 2026 | Examines the 1961 case of Barney and Betty Hill who claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire.[96] |
| 74 | 4 | The Cock Lane Poltergeist | 28 April 2026 | A famous London poltergeist case from 1762 - a ghost accuses a man of murder.[97] |
| 75 | 5 | The Sandown Clown | 5 May 2026 | In the 1970s, two children encounter a strange clown-like figure near, Sandown on the Isle of Wight.[98] |
| 76 | 6 | The Haunting of HMS Asp | 12 May 2026 | A 19th century naval vessel is reputed to be haunted.[99] |
| 77 | 7 | Spring-heeled Jack | 19 May 2026 | Was Spring-heeled Jack, who terrorised 19th century London a vicious prankster or a demon?.[100] |
| 78 | 8 | The South Shields Poltergeist Part 1 | 26 May 2026 | A young family's terrace house in South Shields become a focus of abnormal activity in 2005.[101] |
| 79 | 9 | The South Shields Poltergeist Part 2 | 2 Jun 2026 | Further examination of the noughties poltergeist case.[102] |
| 80 | 10 | The Great Amherst Mystery | 9 Jun 2026 | Looking at the evidence of the Great Amherst Mystery, a 19th-century spiritualism case in Canada.[103] |
| 81 | 11 | Borley Rectory Part 1 | 15 Jun 2026 | The team turn their attention to the most famous haunted house case in England - Borley Rectory in Essex.[104] |
| 82 | 12 | Borley Rectory Part 2 | 23 Jun 2026 | Further examination of the haunting at Borley Rectory as Harry Price begins his investigation.[105] |
| 83 | 13 | Case Update | 30 Jun 2026 | Retrospective of the cold cases, with questions and theories from listeners.[106] |
Uncanny Summer Specials 2026
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | Special | Live from Hay Festival 2026 | 7 July 2026 | An office worker is troubled by repeated supernatural occurrences in the workplace - including witnesses to a strange apparition on a video call.[107] |
| 85 | Special | Cold Cases Live: The Enfield Poltergeist | 14 July 2026 | Examines the Enfield poltergeist case, the famous poltergeist case from the 1970s.[108] |
| 86 | Special | Little Biter | 21 July 2026 | A family in Ramsgate, Kent, is troubled by visions of the ghost of a little girl who seems to bite people; but that's only the first disturbance.[109] |
Television version
A television series for BBC Two was broadcast from Friday 13 October 2023 for three episodes, and renewed for a second series of four episodes broadcast from 31 January 2025. Each episode is one hour long and features experts from the radio series.[2] From the second series these are followed by a visualised podcast, Uncanny: Post Mortem broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Sounds.[5]
Series 1
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Miss Howard | 13 October 2023 | Two separate families are troubled by repeated appearances of an Edwardian spectre in a house in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire.[110] |
| 2 | 2 | The Bearpark Poltergeist | 20 October 2023 | A boy living in a house in Bearpark, County Durham witnesses poltergeist activity.[111] |
| 3 | 3 | The Oxford Exorcism | 27 October 2023 | Three students find their student house in Oxford plagued by an evil spirit.[112] |
Series 2
| No overall | No. | Title | First broadcast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | The Haunting of Hollymount Farm | 31 January 2025 | Danny meets Liam, whose account of poltergeist activity at Hollymount Farm near Tottington, Greater Manchester turns out to have been experienced by three generations of his family and his closest friends. Could it be linked to the former Holly Mount Orphanage which once owned the land?[113] |
| 5 | 2 | The Charity Shop Poltergeist | 7 February 2025 | Sybil recounts a terrifying experience that happened when working as manager of a charity shop. Is "George" the ghost of a man-about-town draper?[114] |
| 6 | 3 | Shadow Man | 14 February 2025 | Following the death of his father, Julian begins to be stalked by a tall shadowy figure, a phenomenon witnessed by multiple friends. After another bereavement, his encounters take a turn for the worse.[115] |
| 7 | 4 | Emily's Room | 21 February 2025 | At their newly renovated house in Southport, a mother and daughter are terrorised by the ghosts of a girl and a sinister man.[116] |
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.[4]