'Sticks and Rope' by Daragh Carville

At the Barry Grand Hotel, Manager Peggy informs her staff of her ‘Employee of the Month’ scheme; when she unsubtly hints that Hal will win, Tom resolves to win the prize for himself. Meanwhile, Alex is surprised to find another ghost haunting ‘Honolulu Heights’: a young Victorian boy named Oliver Fitzwilliam, who has finally decided to come out of hiding from the “men with “sticks and rope”, the guardians of the afterlife. Seeing him as a surrogate little brother, Alex decides to throw Oliver a welcome party, roping in Tom and Hal to help; however, the boy’s ungrateful behaviour quickly spoils the celebrations, and when the ‘naughty step’ approach fails, they send him to his room. Alex later goes to check on Oliver, and finds him talking to voices emanating from an old radio… At the secret government facility, Rook gives the captive Crumb a mission: the slaughter of his sister and niece. After the vampire has sated his bloodlust, Crumb is released; he heads for the Barry Grand Hotel to see Hal, only to be rejected by the elder vampire. Meanwhile, Rook takes footage of Crumb’s attack to Alistair Frith, in a desperate attempt to make his superior rescind the decision to dissolve his department. Oliver admits to Alex that he holds himself responsible for the death of his crippled brother, Albert, who accidentally drowned in a water tank while they played hide-and-seek; in an attempt to cheer him up, Alex takes Oliver on a trip to the fairground. At the Hotel, the manipulative Captain Hatch encourages Tom and Hal to compete against each other; to his delight the two friends soon fall out, their argument degenerating into a food fight in the guests’ restaurant. Back at Honolulu Heights, Oliver is horrified by the sudden appearance of his brother, still soaking wet from his drowning; and then the horrifying men with sticks and rope arrive – the guardians are under the control of Captain Hatch, and he has a plan to trap Alex…

Kate Bracken (Alex), Michael Socha (Tom McNair), Damien Molony (Hal), Steven Robertson (Dominic Rook), Phil Davis (Captain Hatch), Colin Hoult (Ian Cram [Crumb]), Claire Cage (Patsy Potter), Toby Whithouse (Alistair Frith), Benjamin Greaves-Neal (Oliver Fitzwilliam), Hamza Jeetooa (Alan), Martin Hancock (Leader), Daniel Kerr (Decky)

Directed by Philip John
Produced by Polly Buckle
Executive Producer Rob Pursey
A Touchpaper Television production for BBC Television

TX (BBC 3):
10th February 2013 @ 10:00 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Tom McNair, Hal and Alex