Castle Ghosts of England (Documentary) Introduced by Robert Hardy

Throughout history, man has been fascinated by the concept of ghosts – with sightings reported back in ancient times. This series investigates the myths of ghosts associated with various castles throughout the British Isles. From the London Tower to stately Fyvie Castle, ghosts lurk in the halls of history. Myths, legends, and tragedies surrounding these sites are explored in a series of episodes chronicling the history of haunted castles. In Castle Ghosts, visit castles in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales, all thought to be haunted. And learn the fascinating stories of each castle.

Castle Ghosts of England

England is described as "the isle of spirits", the most haunted place on earth. Explore the haunted castles of England and investigate the myths of the ghosts that inhabit them. Castles investigated include Sudley Castle, Muncaster Castle, and the Tower of London.

Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA (born 29 October 1925) is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television.

Hardy began his career as a classical actor. In 1959 he appeared as Sicinius opposite Laurence Olivier in Coriolanus at Stratford-upon-Avon, directed by Peter Hall. He then appeared in Shakespeare's Henry V on stage and in television's An Age of Kings (1960), and subsequently played Coriolanus in The Spread of the Eagle (BBC, 1963) and Sir Toby Belch for the BBC Television Shakespeare in 1980. Over the years, Hardy has played a range of parts on television and film. His first continuing role in a TV series was as businessman Alec Stewart in the award-winning oil company drama The Troubleshooters for the BBC, which he played from 1966 to 1970. He won further acclaim for his portrayal of the mentally-unhinged Abwehr Sgt. Gratz in LWT's 1969 war drama Manhunt. In 1975, Hardy portrayed Prince Albert in the award-winning 13-hour serial Edward the Seventh.

He was seen as the senior veterinarian Siegfried Farnon in the long-running All Creatures Great and Small (1978–90), an adaptation of James Herriot's novels.

Hardy also made an appearance in the 1986–88 ITV comedy series Hot Metal, in which he played the dual roles of newspaper proprietor Twiggy Rathbone (who bore more than a passing resemblance to Rupert Murdoch) and his editor, Russell Spam.

In 1993 Hardy appeared in an episode of Inspector Morse, playing Andrew Baydon in "Twilight of the Gods". Hardy played the part of the successful businessman with a murky wartime past with a characteristic blend of the vulnerable and the bombastic. In 2002, he played the role of pompous and eccentric Professor Neddy Welch in a WTTV/WGBH Boston co-production of Lucky Jim, adapted from the novel by Kingsley Amis. It aired originally as part of the Masterpiece series on PBS in the U.S. and starred Stephen Tompkinson in the title role of Jim Dixon, a luckless lecturer at a provincial British university. In 2010. Hardy appeared in an episode of Lewis, playing Sir Malcolm in "Dark Matter".

Hardy holds the distinction of having played both Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, each on more than one occasion. He played Churchill most notably in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), for which he won a BAFTA award, but also in The Sittaford Mystery, Bomber Harris and War and Remembrance. He played Roosevelt in the BBC serial, Bertie and Elizabeth, and in the French TV mini-series, Le Grand Charles, about the life of Charles de Gaulle.

Returning to his Churchill experience, on 20 August 2010, he read Churchill's famous wartime address "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" at a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the speech.

He also played Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in Elizabeth R, and Prince Albert in Edward the Seventh (known as Edward the King to the American audience). He took the role of Sir John Middleton in the 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility.

His big screen roles include Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films.

On radio he played Lord Malan in His Master's Voice.

His voice performance as Robin Hood in Tale Spinners For Children, an LP from the 1960s, is considered one of the best Robin Hood renditions.[7] His voice was also the voice of D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, and of Frédéric Chopin, in The Story of Chopin.