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 refer to him as The Captain, but have we ever heard his real name?
If not, why the mystery?
Here are all the clues we’ve had on The Captain’s name in Ghosts…
What is The Captain’s real name on Ghosts?
If you’ve been watching Ghosts since series one, you might have noticed that we’ve never actually heard The Captain’s real name!
He’s always referred to as The Captain.
In the 2021 Christmas Special, Pat (Jim Howick) made a suggestion that their Christmas Quiz could have the question: “What is the Captain’s Name?”
Even Alison admitted she didn’t actually know it!
This implies that the Ghosts may actually know his real name, but never actually say it.
In series two, episode three, we saw flashbacks to The Captain’s life before he died.
But throughout the flashbacks, his close friend Lieutenant Havers only referred to him as “Sir” and “Captain”.
This reminds us of the famous Inspector Morse, who did not reveal his first name – Endeavour – for years.
Why hasn’t The Captain been “sucked off”?
Mary coined the term “sucked off” for when a ghost gets taken up to a big white light and never appears again.
It usually happens when a ghost finds peace from something that was left unresolved before their death.
In the second episode of series three, we got a clue on why The Captain hasn’t found any peace.
In flashbacks, viewers saw The Captain running Button House during WWII alongside his close friend, second-in-command Lieutenant Havers.
And viewers soon guessed that The Captain and Lieutenant Havers were more than just good friends.
Lieutenant Havers told The Captain he was heading out to Africa to join the fighting, and The Captain was clearly devastated.
At the end of the episode, we saw The Captain wave off the ghost of Havers who we can only assume died at the front.
The Captain was upset when Mike accidentally blew up a bomb on the grounds of Button House, along with a letter addressed to “William”, who we assume was Havers.
He’s never admitted his love for Havers, but has gotten close to telling the other ghosts a few times.
We assume that once he does, he might find the peace to get “sucked off”.
And maybe he might tell us his real name as well!
The Captain’s real name: What the fan theories are…
There’s been a lot of speculation amongst fans about what The Captain’s real name is!
As Pat previously teased The Captain’s name, we can assume he and the other ghosts know it, so why don’t they use it?
This fan on Reddit suggested that maybe The Captain is embarrassed by his name.
They said: “Maybe it’s something that a soldier like him won’t be proud of, so maybe something like Leslie, a unisex name.”
Another fan added thay they think it will match Fanny’s name: “I would like to think it will be an innuendo name that will match 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 goes by The Captain for practical reasons. Maybe it’s Francis or Thomas?
In series like Fleabag, we never learn some characters’ names.
Some fans like 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 has Bill Willbond said 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 much-reduced form.
“He is a frustrated authority figure who has no authority.”
So could The Captain’s name be Basil to pay tribute to Rowan Atkinson‘s Blackadder character? We would love that!
He did say that the question he gets asked the most is what his character’s name is.
He adds: “I sort of knew it would come up at some point.
“I think I do know the answer, but I don’t know if it will ever be revealed…”
Ghosts continues on Friday October 7 at 8:30 pm on BBC One. All episodes are also available on BBC iPlayer.
Do you have any theories on what The Captain’s name is? Let us know what you think on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.