A few weeks ago I caught up with Yvette Fielding to find out what to expect from the new series of Most Haunted.
Did you expect it to do so well last time after four years away?
Do you know what, no we didn't. We were really nervous, it was really strange actually, Karl (Beattie) was in the front room and said to me "I can't watch it. I'm so nervous. What if nobody likes it?" and I said - "It's great, it's really good!" And then we trended on Twitter and everybody was going nuts! It was really good and we were really really pleased. We were so made up when we were asked to do some more.
You mention Twitter, do you look at it whilst the show is going out?
Oh yeah! I love Twitter. I don't go on Facebook, I haven't been on my Facebook page for a good couple of years, I think someone is pretending to be me. So I go on Twitter and when the show goes out I like to be live on there so that the fans can ask me questions and stuff like that. I think it's really important.
Why do you think people still watch Most Haunted and want to be on it?
I think because Most Haunted is just one of a kind. I don't think there's anything that has come anywhere near to it. I know we've got the American shows, but they're very scientific based, and what we've done with this new series is put a little bit more science in there because I think that's what the show needed.
And also, the great thing about Most Haunted is that it's got the real life element to it - it's got comedy, it's got the screaming element to it as well. I think people can really take something away from it and maybe talk about it, or laugh about it with their work colleagues the next day. They'll question it, and that's what we're after really.
You mention that you want people to question it, and obviously a lot of people question that the show is real and that anything we see/hear happening is just production staff. How do you respond to those sort of comments?
Well there are videos of me on YouTube where it's been edited to look like I've made stuff up, and when I search for it... just tears. Because I'm very passionate about it, I really believe what we're doing and you just have to take it with a pinch of salt.
And even if we did capture a live ghost on camera, people would always say that it's been doctored in the edit and you'll never ever ever win with that. But you know what, I just carry on doing what I'm doing and thoroughly enjoy it. I know what we're doing is true and I know that we don't fake anything.
People will slag it off and say it's a load of old rubbish, which is fair enough. They've got their opinion, I've got mine, and I just ask that they respect and I'll respect theirs.
So what's new this series then? There are a few new faces...
Yeah, we don't have any mediums at all. We've got Eamonn Vann-Harris who's one of the world's leading authorities on EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) which is fantastic. I'm very very keen on voice phenomena and sound. I think that sound and voices are key to working with the paranormal and getting some evidence.
We've got our sceptic Glen Hunt, who I met when I was doing radio, and he was a big fan of the show, and whenever I talked to him about it, he was always like - "Yeah, but what do you think about this? How does that work?" - and I thought, you know what, you'd be a very good sceptic. So he came on board, and he's really good actually.
We've got Leah (Walton) who's just hilarious. She just screams at everything, and I love Leah, because if anyone's watching at home, a scared female, that's how they would react!
And what about you... Do you still get scared?
Of course! My god, I've sort of regressed to the beginning because I had five years off and I've regressed back to the beginning. I have a few corkers during this series (laughs) and I think some of the blokes have done a few squeaks! And it's affected me at night, I can't sleep because of the light begin off, and I can't sleep in the house on my own anymore. I used to be brave, but now I'm like no, I need somebody there.
After filming I can't watch any horror movies, I can't watch anything paranormal or supernatural because it just plays with my mind. I couldn't watch that and then go and do a bloody Ouija board the next day. i just couldn't do it, so I kind of stay away from all of that and fill my life with a lot of colour, and happiness (laughs) and perhaps go for some nice country walks with the dogs!
Stuart and Karl don't appear to let anything hold them back. Do you think that's fair to say?
Yeah, I do. Stuart (Torevell) and Karl are very much do what you want to me, where the rest of us don't want anything doing to us. But they're both very much open to it, if there's a loch that needs investigating, or a well, they'll be in there. The rest of us go - well that's fine, we'll stay here, because we're scared!
Is there anywhere you haven't been yet that you'd love to go with Most Haunted?
I would like to go and investigate the Tower of London, it would be fantastic to go there. I would adore that, I just know that we would get so much phenomena that it would be fascinating.
Years and years ago I asked about going to the Tower of London, I haven't asked recently. I think there's so much red tape to get through that it'd just be a nightmare. I'd love to go to Graceland as well.
You've been quoted as saying it's the best series yet, is that right?
I think so yeah. Purely because it's a great team. We've got some great voices, some great stuff on camera. We've got this chair in a locked off room in this funeral parlour, there's nobody in the room, Karl and Stuart are two floors below, and on their camera you can hear a dragging noise above them. They go - "Oh there's something moving upstairs!" - so they run upstairs and on camera there's nothing untoward.
I remember Karl coming back to the edit and he showed it to me at home in our kitchen, and that chair is being dragged across by nothing. There's no strings, there's nothing. It's unexplainable. It's bizarre. And even when we were packing up we could hear footsteps above us and things being thrown and you'd go up and there was nothing there!