If you’re a fan of Ghosts on BBC One, you might be wondering if we’ve ever heard the Captain’s real name!
Alison and all the ghosts always call him the Captain, but have we ever heard his real name?
Otherwise, why the mystery?
Here are all the clues we got to the Captain’s name in Ghosts…
What is the Captain’s real name in Ghosts?
If you’ve been watching Ghosts since the first series, you might have noticed that we’ve never heard the Captain’s real name!
He is always called the captain.
In the 2021 Christmas special, Pat (Jim Howick) suggested their Christmas quiz might have the question, “What’s the captain’s name?”
Even Alison admitted she didn’t really know!
This implies that the Ghosts may know his real name, but never say it.
In series two, episode three, we saw flashbacks to the captain’s life before his death.
But throughout the flashbacks, his close friend, Lt. Havers, only called him “Sir” and “Captain.”
It reminds us of the famous Inspector Morse, who didn’t reveal his first name – Endeavor – for years.
Why wasn’t the Captain “sucked in”?
Mary coined the term “sucked in” to refer to when a ghost is attracted to a large white light and never appears again.
This usually happens when a ghost finds peace after something that wasn’t resolved before they died.
In the second episode of the third series, we understood why the captain did not find peace.
In flashbacks, viewers saw the captain running Button House during World War II alongside his close friend, Lt. Havers.
And viewers quickly guessed that Captain and Lieutenant Havers were more than good friends.
Lt. Havers told the captain he was heading to Africa to join the fighting, and the captain was clearly devastated.
At the end of the episode, we saw the captain greet the ghost of Havers who we can only assume died at the front.
The Captain was upset when Mike accidentally detonated a bomb on the Button House grounds, along with a letter addressed to “William”, who we assume is Havers.
He never admitted his love for Havers, but came close to telling the other ghosts a few times.
We assume that once he does, he might find peace to get “sucked”.
And maybe he’ll tell us his real name too!
Captain’s real name: What are the fan theories?
There has been a lot of speculation among fans about the captain’s real name!
Since Pat previously teased the Captain’s name, we can assume he and the other ghosts know it, so why aren’t they using it?
This fan on Reddit suggested the captain might be embarrassed by his name.
They said, “Maybe it’s something a soldier like him won’t be proud of, so maybe something like Leslie, a unisex name.”
Another fan added that they thought it would match Fanny’s name: “I’d like to think it’s going to be a hinting name that matches Fanny’s, like Dick (Richard) or Willie (William).”
Some fans think his name might be the same as one of the other ghosts, so he calls himself The Captain for convenience. Maybe it’s Francis or Thomas?
In shows like Fleabag, you never learn the names of certain characters.
Some fans love the running joke around the Captain’s name and actually hope it never gets revealed!
Read more: Ghosts on BBC One: How did all the ghosts die? Here’s a handy recap!
What did Bill Willbond say about the Captain’s real name?
Bill Willbond, who plays The Captain and co-writes the series, shares that the character was inspired by Blackadder.
He says: “Basil Fawlty is basically the captain in a very reduced form.
“He’s a frustrated authority figure who has no authority.”
So, could the Captain’s name be Basil to pay homage to Rowan Atkinson’s Blackadder character? We would like that!
He said the question he gets asked the most is what his character’s name is.
He adds, “I kind of knew it was going to happen at some point.
“I think I know the answer, but I don’t know if it will ever be revealed…”
Ghosts continues Friday, October 7 at 8:30 p.m. on BBC One. All episodes are also available on BBC iPlayer.
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