If you’ve found yourself a little disappointed by almost everything you’ve watched on TV recently, we hear you. That's why we're here to provide you with a failsafe recommendation you can watch tonight in the form of The Secret of Crickley Hall. The beyond brilliant BBC drama, which was first released more than a decade ago, stars Vigil’s Suranne Jones as grief-stricken mother who relocates her family to Crickley Hall in the hope of a fresh start (reader: she doesn’t get it) - and it’s not an exaggeration to say it blows Vigil out of the water.
The drama is, in fact, a ghost story and follows the Caleigh family - including Eve’s husband, Gabe (Tom Ellis) - as they attempt to settle into their new home, only it seems there’s far more to the house and the history of it than meets the eye. And when Eve starts hearing the voice of her son, Cameron (Elliot Kerley), who went missing a year earlier, she becomes convinced that the other tortured spirits inhabiting the house will lead her to him. Both moving and terrifying in equal measure, it’s exactly the sort of series you’ll be thinking about long after the credits roll.
With all three episodes available to binge tonight (or now, if you’d prefer), here’s everything you need to know about The Secret of Crickley Hall before you tune in, including the plot, cast, trailer and how to watch it.
What is The Secret of Crickley Hall about?
The three-part series, which first aired on the BBC in 2012, revolves around two parallel dramas – but it’s far less confusing than it sounds. Firstly, we’ve got the main storyline, which is set in 2006 and follows the events of the Caleigh family – specifically, Gabe (Tom Ellis), his wife Eve (Suranne Joes) and their children, Loren (Maisie Williams), Cameron (Elliot Kerley) and Cally (Pixie Davies).
They live a fairly ordinary existence in London, but tragedy strikes when Eve falls asleep for a few seconds at a playground and wakes up to find that Cam has disappeared. The drama then picks up almost a year later, when Gabe suggests relocating the family to the North - to Crickey Hall - hoping a change of scenery will give Eve some comfort, as they all still cling to the hope that Cam may be alive.
The historical part of the storyline takes us back to 1943 when Crickley Hall was an orphanage for children evacuated from the Blitz. We meet Nancy (Olivia Cooke) who’s interviewed for the position of ‘tutor’ by Magda (Annie Kelly), sister of Augustus Cribben (Douglas Hensall) who runs the orphanage. But it’s not long before Nancy begins to suspect that the orphans are being mistreated, and she’s determined to help them escape.
When the Caleigh family arrives at Crickley Hall, the echoes of the past can immediately be felt. Percy Judd (David Warner) who worked there during the war seems concerned for the children, and as the family attempt to settle in, strange things start of happen around the house. They hear people, Cally claims to have been hit by a man with a cane, and Eve hears her missing son’s voice for the first time in a year.
While Cam says he’s alive and that the children can tell her where he is, the house feels increasingly dangerous. And when Loren suffers a terrifyingly real nightmare where she gets whipped by the man with the cane, Gabe wants them all to leave - only Eve can’t bear the idea of abandoning her son.
Explaining what went into preparing for the role, Suranne told the BBC: “We met James Herbert when he came on set and it was great to chat more about the character. I also went to a bereavement councillor, I thought that was very important because even though it is a genre piece about ghosts, I found it very interesting to delve into the psyche of Eve.
“As much time I had between finishing Scott and Bailey and then I only had two weeks before I jumped into this, I managed to get a bereavement councillor in somewhere in the meantime.”
Who’s in the cast of The Secret of Crickley Hall?
The cast of The Secret of Crickley Hall includes:
- Suranne Jones (Vigil)as Eve Caleigh
- Tom Ellis (Lucifer)as Gabe Caleigh
- Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as Loren Caleigh
- Elliot Kerley (The Bletchley Circle) as Cameron Caleigh
- Pixie Davies (Out of the Dark) as Cally Caleigh
- Nick Sidi (DCI Banks) as The Reverend Andrew
- David Warner (Wallander)as Percy Judd
- Olivia Cooke as Nancy Linnet
- Douglas Hensall (Shetland) as Augustus Cribben
- Susan Lynch (Nora)as Lili Peel
- Donald Sumpter (The ABC Murders) as Gordon Pyke
- Annie Kelly (Sanctuary)as Magda
- Ian Burfield (The Bill) as DI Michael
Is there a trailer for The Secret of Crickley Hall?
Yes, you can watch the trailer for The Secret of Crickley Hall below.
Is The Secret of Crickley Hall any good?
Yes – despite ultimately being a ghost story, it has a real emotional heartbeat. Suranne is outstanding as a guilt-ridden mother who carries the torturous pain of losing a son, but the real standout performance comes from a young Maisie Williams as Loren, the eldest daughter who quietly holds the family together in their grief. If you’re looking for a genuinely original mystery series to watch than you can binge in one night, The Secret of Crickley Hall is a must-watch.
How can I watch The Secret of Crickley Hall?
All three episodes of The Secret of Crickley Hall are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
What other Suranne Jones series can I watch now?
For a true powerhouse performance from Suranne, we’d suggest Hostage. The series sees her step into the shoes of Abigail Dalton, the newly-elected Prime Minister whose time in office is far from straightforward. You can watch Hostage now on Netflix. For something more poignant, we’d recommend Film Club. Suranne plays a fiercely loving single mum to a young agoraphobic woman, Evie (Aimee Lou Wood), who starts a film club in her garage. It’s a brilliantly acted series that will easily win your heart. Film Club is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.