Richard Beckinsale as Alan dressed in his Grey Lady garb
I. Things That Go Bump in the Night: A Christmas Ghost Story
In paranormal folklore, a wandering female spirit is typically referred to as the Grey Lady.
Fans of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter will doubtless think of Helena Ravenclaw whose ghost haunts Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
But fans of the classic 1970s British sitcom Rising Damp (1974-78) - of which I'm one - will immediately think of the series two episode titled 'Things That Go Bump in the Night' [1].
Written by Eric Chappell and directed by Len Lurcuck, the episode first aired on 19 December 1975, and starred Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby, Richard Beckinsale as Alan, Don Warrington as Philip, and Gay Rose as Brenda [2].
Because of its broadcast date, it can reasonably be considered a Christmas ghost story, constituting a marvellous comic addition to an ancient British practice of pagan origin [3].
II. Things That Go Bump in the Night: Synopsis
After Alan returns late one night from the cinema, having taken Brenda to see Doctor Zhivago (1965) [4], he and Rigsby get into a discussion about the latter's preference for watching horror films on TV, such as Dracula's Daughter (1936) and The Mummy's Hand (1940).
Alan suggests this shows a morbid frame of mind, but Rigsby insists they have something important to teach us about "the eternal struggle between good and evil, revealing the darker side of human nature" (3:27) [5] and that the supernatural is not something to be lightly dismissed: "They don't like it when you're frivolous about them." (7:09)
Knowing that despite his protestations that, as a man of medicine, he doesn't believe in vampires and ghosts Alan won't walk through the local churchyard after dark, Rigsby decides to play a joke on him with the aid of a rubber werewolf's hand bought from a local toy shop.
Having scared the bejesus out of Alan, Rigsby then attempts to do the same to Philip by wearing a ghoulish rubber mask. Unfortunately, and hilariously, the urbane and supercool Philip isn't fooled or frightened by Rigsby and greets him calmly when he jumps out - "Hello Rigsby" (8:21) - advising him also to change his face soap.
Undeterred, Rigsby then tells them the tale of the Grey Lady who is said to haunt the house, having being walled up long ago. This gives Philip an amusing idea, which involves Alan donning an old-fashioned long dress and bonnet in order to scare Rigsby. This he does, twice, on the stairs: "My God, she's a size", Rigsby tells Philip: "She's got wild hair and feet like barges. No wonder they walled her up." (14:40)
All of this is much to Brenda's amusement (see fig. 1 above) and, interestingly, she also seems far more sexually attracted to Alan when he's in drag than she was earlier at the cinema: "Well, now you're here, why don't you take your frock off?" (11:47) [6]
Philip persuades Rigsby that the Grey Lady is trying to get in touch and they need to hold a séance - although Rigsby isn't keen on putting the lights out until Brenda expresses the fact that she's game. And it's whilst the lights are out that Rigsby accidently on purpose has the opportunity to bump into Brenda, his hands touching her breasts: Quite firm (15:57) [7].
They hold hands round the table: and Philip contacts the Grey Lady: "Are you there, lady in grey? Do you wish to speak to us? Knock once no and twice for yes." (16:31) Alan, hiding in the room, tells Rigsby in a comical ghostly voice that she's alone and unhappy and that he should be kind to his tenants before it's too late: "Money isn't everything. Don't be an old skinflint." (17:27)
Thinking that there must be a tape recorder hidden in the room, Rigsby jumps up and pulls back the curtain from behind which the voice emanates - only to encounter the Grey Lady for a third time. He runs from the room screaming.
The following day, Rigsby enlists the help of sceptical local vicar (played by Norman Bird) and his overly enthusiastic cricket-loving curate (David Rowlands). The vicar tells Rigsby he'll see what can be done, although he's reluctant to perform the elaborate exorcism that Rigsby is demanding with holy water sprinkled over everything, insisting there must be some natural explanation and that "too much spiritual excitement" is "bad for the digestion" (20:15).
Predictably - this is a sitcom after all - things do not go as planned. The clergymen only discover Alan and Brenda canoodling on the sofa and manage to photograph Rigsby - now dressed as the Grey Lady having found the outfit and uncovered the deception (not quite what they hoped for the parish magazine).
They storm off with the vicar telling Rigsby he doesn't need a priest - he needs a doctor.
This leaves a final scene on the stairs outside Brenda's room in which Rigsby, still in Grey Lady get-up, asks Philip for a light. Philip gives him such and then delivers with his usual deadpan comic skill the killer line: "You know something Rigsby, we just can't go on meeting like this." (23:35) See fig. 2 below.
III. Things That Go Bump in the Night: Why I Love This Episode
There are several reasons why I love this particular episode of Rising Damp. Here are arguably the main two:
Firstly, it cleverly subverts the Gothic horror tradition and writer Eric Chappell brilliantly plays with the Christmas ghost story trope by setting his tale not in some lonely country mansion or haunted castle, but the slightly seedy world of the boarding house and bed-sit.
Exploring Rigsby's superstitious character - established in earlier episodes such as 'Black Magic' (S1/E2, 1974) and 'Charisma' (S1/E4, 1974) - always produces comedy gold and it's fun to discover that not only is he a lover of classic horror movies, but an avid reader of Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1839).
Secondly, the episode provides a masterclass in physical acting - and I say that as someone who isn't a great fan of slapstick, farce, and/or the use of drag in order to solicit laughter. It works here, though because the writing is so good and Rossiter, Beckinsale and Warrington all give sterling performances - as does Gay Rose [8].
I am very aware of the fact that Fawlty Towers (BBC Two, 1975-79) is critically regarded as superior to Rising Damp, but if I were exiled on a desert island, I know which box set I'd rather have with me ... [9]
Fig. 2: Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) in the Grey Lady outfit
and Philip (Don Warrington) being supercool and witty as always
Notes
[1] Rising Damp, 'Things That Go Bump in the Night' (S2/E7) can be watched in full on YouTube: click here. Times for the lines quoted from the episode will be given in the post.
[2] Brenda, an artist model, played by Canadian actress Gabrielle Rose (credited as Gay Rose), temporarily replaced Miss Jones (Frances de la Tour) in the second series of Rising Damp. De la Tour was obliged to step away from the show in 1975 due to theatre commitments. Although she only appeared in four episodes as a new tenant, Rose made an interesting addition to the cast and I have always been fond of her character who added a missing sexual element to the show.
[3] Telling ghost stories by the fire on those long December nights is rooted in the ancient winter festival of Yule, celebrated by Germanic peoples to mark the solstice; a time when people believed that the veil separating the living from the dead was thin.
It is an oral custom that carried on into the Christian era and the telling of terrifying tales and spooky stories had a real resurgence in Victorian England thanks to authors including Charles Dickens and M. R. James (the latter's 1904 collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary remains a spine-chilling example of the genre).
If largely overshadowed by more modern (and more commercial) Christmas traditions, the custom of telling ghost stories never completely went away and in the 1970s the BBC broadcast a series of short television films under the title A Ghost Story for Christmas (1971-78).
And so, as indicated, the Rising Damp episode under discussion here must be understood within a broader cultural context. Readers who want to know more are encouraged to read The Ghost: A Cultural History (Tate Publishing, 2017), by the writer and art historian Susan Owens.
[4] Directed by David Lean, Doctor Zhivago (1965) is an epic historical romance set in Russia which "deals with man's disillusionment with the Russian Revolution" (2:12). Alan was hoping it would get Brenda in a nice romantic mood - which it did; she fell in love with Omar Sharif.
[5] Alan is impressed with Rigsby's insight, but he is simply repeating something he heard on Film Night, the BBC Two show that aired from 1968 until 1976 and featured movie reviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with prominent actors and directors.
[6] Whilst gender play is, one suspects, quite a common phenomenon in the bedroom, some members of the kink community use the term Gynemimetophilia for this form of attraction. Coined by sexologist John Money in 1984, this clinical term refers to a sexual attraction to men who mimic or impersonate women, including cross-dressers and drag queens.
Although nothing is made explicit in the episode of Rising Damp under discussion, it does contain a scene in which, having been defrocked by Brenda, Alan tells her she's terrific and that they must do whatever it is they've done again sometime; that she's made him feel like a man. The more sexually experienced Brenda seems fairly blasé and simply reminds Alan not to forget to put his dress back on when he leaves. See the scene beginning at 13:31.
[7] This is probably my favourite line in the episode, but I cannot decide whether it was scripted by Eric Chappell or ad-libbed by Leonard Rossiter. And I'm not alone in this; writing in an article on Rising Damp for the website Television Heaven (published on 5 June 2020), Andrew Cobby admits to his own indecision concerning who should be credited with the line, deciding that even if Rossiter didn't come up with it, he should be praised as an actor for making it sound as if it's ad-libbed.
Either way, it's a hilarious line, which seems to make Brenda smile - or again, is that the actress Gay Rose who is amused and on the verge of breaking character? I can't tell, even though I've watched the scene repeatedly.
[8] I have to confess that I'm not so keen on the supporting roles played by Bird and Rowlands, but don't wish to say anything too negative about either actor here.
[9] Actually, several critics have come round to the opinion that Fawlty Towers hasn't aged as well as Rising Damp and now feels like a clever but clockwork theatrical farce rather than a genuine sitcom.
Writing in The Guardian (20 November 2009) Catherine Shoard argues that, at its best, Rising Damp "bears comparison with Beckett and Pinter". Plus, as she rightly notes, "it's hilarious".
See also Michael Henerson's article 'Shouldn't we celebrate Rising Damp?' in The Spectator (24 September 2025), which argues that the ITV show was every bit as good as Fawlty Towers - just as funny and featuring a central performance by Leonard Rossiter just as convincing as that given us by John Cleese.
Readers who wish to read more about Rising Damp are advised to go to Oh ... Miss Jones! a fantastic online resource for all things Rigsby: click here.
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