Freddie Jones 1927 - 2019

An actor who combined theatrical extravagance with television discipline Freddie Jones always made an impact whatever the size of the role. His career is packed with memorable performances on tv, stage and film. For me his signature role was as Sir George Uproar in the brilliant series The Ghosts of Motley Hall, ostensibly a children’s show but courtesy of writer Richard Carpenter full of three dimensional characters. His role required a performance both larger than life yet sprinkled with emotion. For many though he is best known for his stint in Emmerdale from 2005-19, an achievement indeed for an actor to reach his public pinnacle in his eighties, wider recognition he thoroughly deserved. He brought the same skills to the part of Sandy as he always did earning widespread praise for his performances. 

Sheila Steafel on The Ghosts of Motley Hall

twuarchive: occasional slices of fanzine history
In 2005 as part of our big feature on The Ghosts of Motley Hall, I emailed Sheila Steafal to see if she would be willing to provide a short piece about the series and she obliged. She also amended the biog I’d written for her career and both appeared in issue 15 in 2005 and can now be seen here.

The full Ghosts of Motley Hall article and episode guide can be found in the book Tomorrow Is Now – The Best of This Way Up 2002-2014 available from Amazon in digital or printed format. See the Things to Buy page.

The Best of This Way Up 2002-2014 - Now Available!

Tomorrow Is Now
 

The Best of This Way Up 2002 -2014

Articles, features and episode guides from the archives of the acclaimed fanzine/ blog This Way Up are collected together in a unique volume. 

Classic children’s TV: The Ghosts of Motley Hall,  The Feathered Serpent, Sky, Tom Grattan’s War, Richard Carpenter, Children’s and post Watch with Mother serials
 
Telefantasy: Strange, Firefly, Invasion Earth, Out of this World, Virtual Murder, 1990s telefantasy
 
Films: Alien, Handmade Films, Jaws, Duck Soup
 
TV: Nigel Kneale,  Second Coming, Phillip Saville, The Comic Strip Presents, Lives & Loves of  a She Devil, Adverts

Theatre: War Horse, The Pillowman, RUR
 
Miscellany: Pluto, La Machine, The end of record shops and much more 

Written by Tim Worthington, Sean Alexander, OJ Wake, David Rolinson,
Matt Salusbury, John Connors

Available in print or digital version from Amazon here Tomorrow Is Now

or search on Amazon for Tomorrow Is Now

Up-words - High Spirits

High Spirits / John Connors / October 2005

A masterclass in script writing and studio acting, The Ghosts of Motley Hall has been hidden away in children’s television history behind the outwardly similar BBC series Rentaghost for far too long. It’s time for that to change though, because the ITV series is infinitely superior in every respect. Motley Hall delights in rich language and revels in its own world of ghosts who are only human after all; it pivots gracefully on tiny plots weaving them brilliantly into 25 minutes of character interaction and fun. Where Rentaghost goes for the cheap panto laugh and slapstick every time, Motley Hall will delight you with wit, energy and even drama. It’s a shame that it hasn’t been acknowledged because at the time the series was incredibly popular, being nominated for a BAFTA award and twice winning “junior TV Times” `Look In`’s readers award for favourite series. Perhaps with all the episodes now available on dvd this will change and the true worth of the show will be recognised.