'There’s Nobody There…' by Derrick Sherwin and Martin Hall

Wanting to escape the rat race and start a new life in the countryside, Peter Sinclair takes his family to view an old, empty house that has fallen into disrepair. Apart from the need for redecoration the place looks ideal for Peter’s new antiques shop, although the estate agent, Mr Jacobs, seems nervous and can’t wait to get outside. Exploring the cellar, Peter and his wife Jane are blown by an odd dust storm; meanwhile, their children, Tom and Gilly, check out potential bedrooms upstairs and see windows opening and closing of their own accord. Gilly finds an old picture of the house, which was originally called ‘Cornerstones’, and built in 1885 on the site of an old workhouse. Learning from Mr Jacobs that the house is supposedly haunted, and that all the previous owners have been scared away, Jane offers him half the sale price, which the estate agent eagerly accepts. As the Sinclairs leave for a celebratory lunch, the ghost of a young boy materialises – and he doesn’t look happy… The Sinclairs move in and start redecorating; but then strange things begin happening: Peter’s antique stock moves around the shelves, Jane’s paint tin switches places with her tea, and the visiting Mr Jacobs has trouble sitting in a moving chair and accidentally drinks paint. One night, an exhausted Peter stops repairing an antique and goes to bed, absently leaving his soldering iron lying on a pile of wood shavings. Smelling smoke, the ghost wakes Tom and sends him to the cellar to put out the fire, while Gilly gets her parents. Peter races to the cellar, and helps his son put out the flames with the aid of a fire extinguisher. Wondering if he dreamt the ghost, Tom returns to his room to compare notes with Gilly; then the spectral boy reappears, and after declaring that he has decided to let the children stay as long as they play with him, he explains how he lived in the workhouse until his death from the plague. The children agree to keep their new friend a secret, and when the spectral boy tells them he has forgotten his name, Tom calls him ‘Nobody’…

Kevin Moreton (Nobody), Stuart Wilde (Tom Sinclair), Mandy Woodward (Gilly Sinclair), William Gaunt (Peter Sinclair), Wendy Gifford (Jane Sinclair), John Cater (Mr. Jacobs), Walter Gaunt (Wally)

Directed by Michael Ferguson
Produced by Margaret Bottomley

TX (ITV):
27th September 1976

Notes:
*Introducing Nobody, Tom, Gilly, Peter and Jane Sinclair