65a - BBC Ghost Story for Christmas - The Ice House (1978)

The Ice House is part of the BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas tradition, originally broadcast under the banner A Ghost Story for Christmas. First shown on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1978, it marked the final instalment of the original 1971 to 1978 run. This episode completes our podcast coverage of that era. -

Written by John Bowen, who previously delivered The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Ice House was produced by Rosemary Hill and directed by Derek Lister. Its Christmas Day broadcast made it only the second entry in the strand to air on 25 December, following Lost Hearts, securing its place in the BBC Ghost Story for Christmas canon despite being quietly sidelined over the years. -

Starring John Stride as Paul, Geoffrey Burridge as Clovis and Elizabeth Romilly as Jessica, The Ice House breaks from tradition by being a contemporary ghost story rather than a period adaptation. This change was driven by Rosemary Hill after she took over the strand. Series creator Lawrence Gordon Clark preferred the earlier M R James style and left after Stigma, making The Ice House the only film in the original run not directed by him. -

John Stride had appeared uncredited in Sink the Bismarck! before gaining wider recognition in The Omen and A Bridge Too Far. He later starred in the BBC adaptation of The Old Devils. Producer Adrian Mourby later described Stride as a powerful actor whose volatility could be difficult to manage. -

Geoffrey Burridge is remembered for Blake’s 7, Emmerdale Farm and his appearance in An American Werewolf in London. He died in 1987 from an AIDS related illness. His partner Alec McCowen later insisted their relationship be acknowledged during the broadcast of This Is Your Life. McCowen also connects back to the podcast through Frenzy and his role as Q in Never Say Never Again. -

Elizabeth Romilly appeared in several television plays and in Secrets of a Door to Door Salesman. By 2011 she had left acting and was working as a lawyer in the Government Legal Service. -

Writer John Bowen went on to create Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and wrote for Dead of Night and The Guardians, a 1971 series imagining a fascist Britain. It feels increasingly relevant and is very much on our list for future podcast coverage.

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