'It was a no-brainer to come back'

The edge-of-your-seat supernatural thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story creeps its way into Bristol starring real-life coupe Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton. NATALIE BANYARD spoke to Stacey about reprising her role

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DOCUMENTARY maker, TV presenter, Strictly Come Dancing winner, author and now West End star, the warm and witty Stacey Dooley is champing at the bit to return to hit supernatural thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story - and this time with her famous partner in tow.

As the first real-life couple to star in 2:22 A Ghost Story, Stacey Dooley and Strictly and musical theatre star Kevin Clifton are relishing the chance to work together again, seven years after they raised the Glitterball Trophy on Strictly Come Dancing.

Stacey starred in the smash-hit thriller for a limited run at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End in 2024, and now reprises her role for the UK tour, playing The Bristol Hippodrome from August 18 to 23.

Written by the award-winning Danny Robins, creator of the hit BBC podcast and TV series Uncanny, and directed by acclaimed TV, film and theatre director Matthew Dunster, 2:22 A Ghost Story is an adrenaline-packed, fright-filled production where secrets emerge and ghosts may, or may not, appear...

Jenny believes her new home is haunted, but her husband Sam isn’t having any of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren and her new partner Ben. Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening, and that something is getting closer, so they're going to stay up until 2:22 - and then they'll know.

Stacey plays Jenny, the young mother who is convinced that what she’s experiencing is not a figment of her imagination, and is desperate to have her beliefs validated by Sam (played by Kevin) and her friends.

“I was drawn to 2:22 initially as a fan of the play,’ recalls Stacey. “I went to watch it when Mandip Gill was playing Jenny. I loved it, thought it was so cleverly done. So when the chance to audition for Jenny presented itself, I was delighted.