If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Ghosts: Mrs. Button's facial expressions literally hurt, says Martha Howe-Douglas

Martha Howe-Douglas confirmed that it takes a lot of muscle to be as disappointed as Mrs. Button

Still image of Lady Buttons in Ghosts
Image credit: BBC

Sometimes, when playing a constantly disappointed Edwardian ghost, there's a cost. Martha Howe-Douglas, who plays Mrs. Button on the hit BBC sitcom Ghosts chatted about those costs to a packed Main Stage audience at this weekend's MCM Comic Con.

Panel moderator Ed Templer pointed out that he loved Mrs. Button's intense facial expressions - especially in series five, and went on to ask Howe-Douglas "Do they hurt?" In response, Howe-Douglas responded, "Yeah. They really hurt. In the first week of filming, I always forget how much it really hurts my neck to contort so much... I've looked back at series five and thought "maybe you've gone too far."

Laurence Rickard, who plays caveman Robin, then chimed in, "I like the walk, how the walk developed. When you walk in and say 'Alright Look everybody listen to me,' it looks like her hip's dislocated. It's gone so far."

But that isn't all that Mrs. Buttons brings to the show, "Theres also a bunch of non-verbal noises," Matthew Baynton, who plays poet Thomas, chimed in. "If you happen to be next to Lady Button in a scene, you just get this constant soundtrack of [shocked noises]."

Truly, there is nothing like a digruntled Victorian ghost.


Become a Popverse member to watch the entire MCM Comic Con Ghosts panel here.

Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news

Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture

Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.

In this article
Follow a topic and we'll email you when we write an article about it.

Ghosts

TV show

Related topics
About the Author
Tiffany Babb avatar

Tiffany Babb

Deputy Editor

Tiffany Babb is Popverse's deputy editor and resident Sondheim enthusiast. Tiffany likes stories that understand genre conventions (whether they play into them or against them), and she cries very easily at the movies— but rarely at the moments that are meant to be tearjerkers.

Comments