Laurence Rickard: Ghosts, Horrible Histories and Career Facts

Primary occupations: Actor, writer, comedian (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry)) · Nationality: English (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry)) · Known for (named titles): Ghosts, Horrible Histories, Amandaland (Laurence Rickard official website (subject’s own site)) · Ghosts run: 2019–2023, BBC One (Wikipedia (encyclopedia, Them There entry))

Twelve facts, one pattern: the dated credits trace back to Rickard’s own site and to Wikipedia, while the personal details rest on tier-3 aggregators.

Does Laurence Rickard play two parts in Ghosts?

Yes. Rickard plays two characters in Ghosts: Robin the caveman and Sir Humphrey Bone, the head of the headless Tudor ghost (Royal Television Society (industry body)). The research set cites only this outlet for the two roles, and no BBC cast list was checked for this piece.

Writing credits are a separate count. Wikipedia’s Them There entry credits him with writing 14 of the 34 Ghosts episodes in the first five series (Wikipedia (encyclopedia, Them There entry)), while TVmaze lists 31 episodes in total (TVmaze (episode database)), so this piece does not fix a single episode total.

Which Ghosts credits are listed for Laurence Rickard?

• Co-created, written and starred in Ghosts, broadcast on BBC One from 2019 to 2023 over five series (Wikipedia (encyclopedia, Them There entry))
• Ghosts: The Possession of Button House, a feature film with a UK cinema release on 23 March 2026 (Chortle (comedy news site))
• An American CBS remake of Ghosts, now in its fifth series, with international versions in Australia, France, Germany and Greece (Laurence Rickard official website (subject’s own site))
• Three BAFTA nominations for Ghosts, according to his official website (Laurence Rickard official website (subject’s own site))

The implication: Ghosts is the credit cluster where the sources agree on the core facts, and the two-role answer is the most useful figure a fan can cite. The episode total is the number that still varies between listings.

What is Laurence Rickard doing now?

His latest dated work sits in two places: Amandaland and a Ghosts feature film. Amandaland, a spin-off from Motherland, premiered on BBC1 in 2025 with Rickard as script editor and co-writer (Laurence Rickard official website (subject’s own site)), and his official credits place him as Mr Hastings in Series 2, which aired in May 2026 (Laurence Rickard official website (credits list)).

The film is the largest date on the calendar. Chortle reports a UK cinema release on 23 October 2026, and Rickard told the site that the TV run probably ends here (Chortle (comedy news site)).

What TV shows have The Six Idiots been involved in?

• Ghosts, BBC One, 2019–2023 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia, Them There entry))
• Horrible Histories, CBBC/BBC1, credits 2009–2013 (Laurence Rickard official website (credits list))
• Yonderland, Sky One, premiere 10 November 2013 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
• Bill, a 2015 film co-written with Ben Willbond, UK release September 2015 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
• We Are Not Alone, a 2022 television feature co-written with Ben Willbond and commissioned by UKTV’s Dave (NRH Management (representation agency))

The catch: these credits belong to the Them There troupe as a whole, and the sources do not split individual writing shares for each show.

Who are the six idiots?

The Six Idiots is the nickname for the Horrible Histories cast, which BBC News says is formally called Them There. The members it names are Baynton, Howick, Farnaby, Howe-Douglas, Rickard and Ben Willbond (BBC News (national broadcaster)).

How did the Six Idiots meet, and how old are they?

• Origin of the group: the BBC source names the members but gives no account of how they met (BBC News (national broadcaster))
• Ages: no member’s age is stated anywhere in the research set

The catch: the nickname is sourced, but the origin story and member ages are not, so this article leaves both out rather than estimate them.

Why did the Horrible Histories cast leave?

No source in the research set gives a reason for any cast change on Horrible Histories. The official credits do show the show’s arc: Series 1 aired on CBBC/BBC1 in 2009, and Series 5 aired in 2013 and closed the original incarnation (Laurence Rickard official website (credits list)).

Are the cast of Horrible Histories friends?

• Personal relationships between cast members are not documented in the research set.
• The documented link is formal: the BBC lists six members of Them There (BBC News (national broadcaster)).

The implication: a departure needs a named, dated source before anyone can explain it, and none appears in this research, so the reason stays not confirmed.

Who narrated Horrible Histories?

The research set does not name a narrator. Rickard’s official credits list him as an actor and writer on the show’s 2009–2013 run (Laurence Rickard official website (credits list)), but no source in the set gives a narrator’s name, so this article does not name one.

Who are the female characters in Horrible Histories?

• No female cast members or characters are named in the research set.
• The one character the set names is Bob Hale, a parody of presenter Peter Snow that Rickard created (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry)).

The catch: both answers sit on a full cast list, which this research did not reach, so a CBBC or BBC credit page is the check to run next.

Career timeline in dates

• 2009: Horrible Histories Series 1 airs on CBBC/BBC1 (Laurence Rickard official website (credits list))
• 10 November 2013: Yonderland premieres on Sky One (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
• September 2015: Bill has its UK nationwide release (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
• 2019: Ghosts begins on BBC One, running to 2023 over five series (Wikipedia (encyclopedia, Them There entry))
• 2022: We Are Not Alone, a television feature co-written with Ben Willbond, is commissioned by Dave (NRH Management (representation agency))
• 2024: Brunel University London awards Rickard an honorary doctorate in humanities (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
• 27 May 2026: The Ghosts feature film is announced on social media, with filming in early May 2026 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia, Them There entry))
• May 2026: Amandaland Series 2 airs, with Rickard as Mr Hastings (Laurence Rickard official website (credits list))
• 23 May 2026: Ghosts: The Possession of Button House opens in UK cinemas (Chortle (comedy news site))

The pattern: the dated record is firmest for the 2009–2023 credits, while the 2026 film entries rest on one interview and a social media announcement.

Confirmed facts and open questions

The pattern: the sourced record covers the career credits, while the personal-life and cast-history questions remain open.

What Rickard and critics say

“Yes, this probably is the end of Ghosts. But I’ve said that before.”

Laurence Rickard, in an interview with Chortle (comedy news site)

“A bit like going on a retreat with your mates for two months during those dark, first couple of months of the year.”

Laurence Rickard, describing the Ghosts series five production, per Royal Television Society (industry body)

“A crowd pleasing treat.”

Mark Kermode, The Observer, quoted on Laurence Rickard official website (subject’s own site)

The implication: the praise on record comes from a critic and from the cast’s own accounts, so it shows reception rather than verified outcomes.

What this means for readers

The weakest part of the record is personal life, and the cast-history answers depend on documents this research did not locate. For a fan planning around the Ghosts film, the choice is clear: mark the 23 October 2026 cinema date from Chortle (comedy news site), and wait for a BBC or cast-list source before counting on any role in the film.

Frequently asked questions