BBC Radio 4’s hit real-life paranormal investigation podcast Uncanny has announced that it has been commissioned by BBC Two and BBC iPlayer for a TV adaptation series.
The series, which will feature real-life accounts of supernatural encounters, expert analysis, and investigations, will be hosted by the show’s creator Danny Robins who is also behind two more supernatural BBC podcasts - The Witch Farm and The Battersea Poltergeist.
“I've been blown away by the response to Uncanny. We’ve built an incredible community around the show, many of whom never realised how interested in the paranormal they were!” said Robins. “I'm incredibly excited to get the chance to both continue the podcast and adapt it for TV, as we explore that biggest of all questions - 'do ghosts exist'? I promise it will be scary and fascinating in equal measure - so, do you dare watch?”
The Uncanny podcast amassed massive success since it launched in 2021 with three million downloads globally. Additionally, supernatural podcast The Witch Farm was ranked as the second most popular podcast across plays in the BBC’s fourth quarterly report in 2022.
“Uncanny is a sensational podcast that has proved to be a huge hit on BBC Sounds,” said BBC Specialist Factual head of commissioning Jack Bootle. “And it’s going to be every bit as spine-chilling when it makes the transition to BBC Two and iPlayer later this year. Watch it with the lights on.”
“We’re thrilled to give Uncanny fans a whole new way to scare themselves silly,” said BBC Radio 4 commissioning editor for podcasts, formats, and digital Rhian Roberts. “And for anyone yet to discover this world of shivers and chills the Uncanny podcast is on BBC Sounds now, along with Danny’s other paranormal cold case investigations The Witch Farm and The Battersea Poltergeist."
A number of other hit podcasts have successfully been turned into TV series or documentaries, including podcast production company Tenderfoot TV’s adaptation of investigative podcast Up and Vanished, which was made into a six-part documentary series with Oxygen Network.
Conversely, BBC Sounds has also worked on a number of companion podcasts to its hit TV shows including its two on-going series Obsessed With… and Inside… which cover a range of its shows including Happy Valley, Inside No.9, The Outlaws, and more.
