10 British Horror TV Shows You've Probably Never Seen

It is odd how much Ghostwatch manages to suck you in, even though its core conceit no longer quite works in an age when television can be paused and rewinded at will.

Famously controversial upon release, with over 30,000 calls to the BBC from concerned and outraged viewers as well as a decade long ban on repeating the broadcast, Ghostwatch presented itself as a live show, switching between a haunted house in which a young family were being terrorised by a spirit and the television studio.

Featuring respected broadcasters such as Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, and Mike Smith, the narrative alternated between in-studio guests, faked call-ins, and footage review searching for evidence of the paranormal from within the studio to Sarah Greene in the terrorised family's home. As the night proceeds, the supernatural activity increases in frequency and intensity, eventually ending with Sarah Green being apparently killed by the spirit and Parkinson possessed.

Best watched in one go as originally intended, Ghostwatch played with the elements of 'live' television by showing the spirit in the background of shots only to review the footage in the studio to show that there was nothing there. Though aged, Ghostwatch is still surprisingly effective.