Dani's Castle

Dani's Castle is a British children's comedy series that aired on CBBC. It is a spin-off from the show Dani's House. The story begins when Dani inherits a castle in Northern Ireland from her late aunt. She discovers the property comes with unexpected residents: an unknown cousin and two ghosts who died 250 years ago. The first series started on 17 January 2013 on CBBC and on 1 April 2013 on ABC3. Series two ran from 14 November 2013 to 3 January 2014. Series three aired from 7 July 2015 to 22 September 2015, with a Christmas finale on 15 December 2015. Filming took place in County Down, Northern Ireland.

In series one, Dani re-evaluates her life after the fictional medical drama *McHurtie's Hospital* is cancelled. When her Great-Aunt Marjorie dies, Dani inherits Bogmoor Castle. She arrives full of optimism, but finds the castle has been voted the worst tourist attraction in the country for ten years in a row. It has crumbling towers, howling corridors, an overgrown garden, and two young ghosts named Gabe and Esme. Dani also meets a troublesome cousin she never knew existed, and learns her aunt left behind a large pile of debts and unpaid bills.

Series two picks up with Dani now a Hollywood star, but she still cares about the castle's residents and keeps in touch via webcam. She leaves the castle in the hands of her cousins Rich and Jimmy, her best friend Kait, the ghosts Gabe and Esme, and Rich's younger brother Dylan. A romance grows between Kait and Rich. Rich continues to come up with money-making schemes, this time launching a radio station called Bogmoor FM.

For series three, the show was renamed *Rich, Jimmy & Kait's Castle* after Dani Harmer left. Kait starts her own baking business, Rich and Jimmy add a recording studio to Bogmoor FM, Gabe sets up a "Ghostel," Leonie invites a band called The Dead Headz to play on the station, and Dylan meets a ghost from the Titanic. Rich and Kait break up, sparking a prank war. Other events include Gabe and Rich counselling a nervous ghost, Gabe and Leonie swapping places with Rich and Kait, a Ghostel inspector visiting, Kait winning best newcomer at a pet snack business award, and Dylan's birthday. Rich and Kait feel awkward when they are made to play lovers in a production of *A Midsummer Night's Dream*. Jimmy returns from his Street Dance Academy tour and goes on a picnic date with Clare; they get together, and Rich and Kait get back together. Gabe wants to write a gossip novel. Two new characters were introduced: Clare (played by Jessica Forrest) and Leonie (played by Lucy Hutchinson). This was the final series.

The show was filmed entirely on location at Killyleagh Castle in Killyleagh, County Down. The first, second, and third series were filmed in the summers of 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively. It was produced by Raymond Lau, with lead writer Paul Rose and lead director Dez McCarthy. The cast included Kieran Alleyne as Jimmy, Niall Wright as Gabe, Shannon Flynn as Kait, Lorenzo Rodriguez as Leo, Jordan Brown as Esme, Richard Wisker as Rich, Toby Murray as Dylan, Jessica Forrest as Clare, and Lucy Hutchinson as Leonie. The opening titles order changed each series. Series one performed well, with most episodes in the CBBC Weekly Top 10. Executive producer Elaine Sperber praised Dani Harmer's talent and popularity. Harry Venning of *The Stage* disliked the laugh track, calling it an abomination, but noted the show was genuinely funny. Series two and onwards did not include a laugh track.