'This Country' Star Charlie Cooper Set For Paranormal Road Trip In New Factual Series

October 02, 2024 1:00 AM ‐ Paranormal • Television

Photo: © BBC

Charlie Cooper, the award-winning star and co-creator of the cult BBC Three comedy 'This Country', is taking a detour from his comedic roots to explore the paranormal and folklore of the British countryside in an upcoming factual series.

The new three-part series, 'Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country', will air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer from October 4. It promises a quirky mix of humour and mystery as Charlie dives headfirst into the weird and wonderful myths and legends that haunt the UK's towns and villages.

Charlie is no stranger to the paranormal. Alongside his sister and 'This Country' co-star, Daisy May Cooper, he once braved a night at the Ancient Ram Inn, the notoriously haunted building in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Their ghost hunt, featuring Ouija boards, psychic mediums, and plenty of nerves, became a memorable experience, sparking Charlie's fascination with local legends even further. "We've watched every documentary and read so much about it. To be here now is amazing," Charlie confessed to The Wotton Times during that spooky adventure.

Now, he's set to embark on a new journey, this time in his campervan, travelling across the UK to investigate the folklore that continues to fascinate locals and tourists alike. The series will see him delve into everything from the enigmatic crop circles and UFO sightings in Wiltshire to the tales of spectral ghost dogs roaming the marshy expanses of East Anglia.

Charlie will be meeting believers and sceptics alike, visiting iconic locations, and collecting evidence to try and separate fact from fiction. But this isn't about proving or debunking; rather, it's about getting to the heart of these stories that have captivated people for generations, shining a light on the gloriously bonkers side of Britain's rural mythology.

"I'm really excited about this new series," Charlie said. "I've always been fascinated by local legends, myth and folklore. As I see it, my mission is to explore our ancient world, seek out mythical creatures, and boldly go where no TV presenter has gone before." That sense of adventure and curiosity is what makes Charlie a perfect host for a series like this - he's got both the wit to make light of the stranger parts of these stories and the genuine interest to explore their origins.

In a world where misinformation and echo chambers are more prevalent than ever, 'Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country' aims to find out where myth ends and reality begins. Charlie won't just be listening to old legends; he'll also be staging his own experiments, seeking elusive evidence, and getting a sense of how these myths have shaped the communities they come from.

Nasfim Haque, Head of Content for BBC Three, shared her excitement for the new series: "It is super thrilling and scary in equal measure to see what mysteries and magic Charlie uncovers on his adventures. We are so pleased to be working with him on his factual debut at the BBC, and we are sure that audiences will be captivated by everything he discovers."

The show will be produced by Naked West, a Fremantle label, and the series is described by Executive Producer Tom O'Brien as "an adventure ripe with character, kookiness, and the uncanny." He added, "British folktales are finding new life once again with a real explosion of interest, so it’s a great time to unearth their origins, quirks, and meaning for the present-day."

For viewers, 'Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country' promises to be an entertaining mix of humour, mystery, and a lot of heart. It will explore not just the myths themselves but the people and places that keep these stories alive. Whether it’s tales of UFOs, ghost dogs, or the spirit of a 14th-century woman making contact through a Ouija board, Charlie is ready to shine a light on Britain’s rural legends - and, hopefully, learn a bit more about what draws people to these stories.

'Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country' is available to stream in full now on BBC iPlayer.

Episode Guide

Episode 1: Black Shuck
Alleged sightings of this 900-year-old hell hound are recorded almost monthly, so is Charlie in with a chance? His humorous odyssey takes him across Norfolk and Suffolk, where he meets witnesses and learns that in Britain almost every county has its own mythical creature. You only need to scratch the surface anywhere in this land to discover that folklore, myth and legend are very much alive.

Episode 2: Marks On The Landscape

Charlie Cooper’s odyssey takes him to Wiltshire, home to ancient sites such as Stonehenge, Avebury and the Westbury chalk horse. He wants to get to the bottom of why humans feel the need to leave marks on the landscape.

He soon turns his investigation towards a far more recent phenomenon, crop circles, hoping to settle a debate that has plagued his family for years. They believe that crop circles are the work of aliens, but Charlie strongly doubts that. He meets with farmers and secretive 'croppies' (humans who create crop circles), trying to find out how these vast and intricate shapes appear overnight.

Episode 3: King Arthur's Treasure

Charlie Cooper has always loved the stories of King Arthur, especially the ones about his buried treasures. He digs out his metal detector, says goodbye to his family and embarks on an Arthurian investigation.

He travels to Wales, the land of dragons and song, on a mission to discover if King Arthur was a real man or just a myth and if there’s any truth behind this treasure story. In the process, he meets treasure hunters of different sorts, a recorder of rare and ancient folk songs, and finds what he refers to as 'his tribe', a metal-detecting club from South Wales.

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