'Gogglebox' Cast Terrified By Discovery+'s 'Haunted Hospitals'

In the week that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe returned to Britain after being held in prison in Iran for six years, the cast of 'Gogglebox' watched something really scary on Discovery+, the latest episode of the US true ghost stories show, 'Haunted Hospitals'.

'Haunted Hospitals' features horrifying tales, which are all told first-hand by doctors, nurses and patients. Every story is a nightmarish mix of paranormal encounter and hair-raising mystery, as the show unravels the tale of the troubled souls behind the hauntings.

Armchair pundits including Pete and his little sister Sophie from Blackpool, and Brighton hair-dressing couple Stephen and Daniel reacted to the episode from the show's third season, entitled 'Reckless Thrills, Shadow Demon', which featured the real-life story of a nurse named Vanessa Palacios and her terrifying experience.

While the Siddiqui family practiced their ghost impressions on the sofa, Amira excitedly told her sister, Amani, "this is my show, I'm not even joking, this is my show." In the episode, Vanessa and her friends got more than they bargained for when they dared to venture into an abandoned hospital on Halloween night.

The chilling episode started with the ominous message, "these stories are based entirely on eyewitness testimony." 'Gogglebox' new-comers, Glasgow-based Roisin and Joe, said "you always know you're in for it when you get a message like that at the start."

North London-based 'Gogglebox' critic, Jane, continued reading the disclaimer to her brother Simon, "some names and details have been changed to protect privacy," to which Simon added, "...and embarrassment." Leeds-based Ellie told her sister, Izzi, "I feel like if anywhere is going to be haunted, it's going to be a hospital."

The TV critics watch as Vanessa tells us, "the night begins, it was a nice night, a full moon, and my friends and I arrived at the hospital."

Daniel looked at his husband and asked, "if you were a nurse, would you want to go to an abandoned hospital?" The quick-witted Stephen replied, "it's like me and you going on Halloween into an abandoned hair salon."

Vanessa then tells us how the security guard allowed them in to the abandoned building before locking them in for the night. The 'Gogglebox' cast were shocked by this. Annie, who was sat next to her husband Ronnie in South East London, exclaimed, "don't be stupid!" The Baggs household were particularly shocked by this. Lisa said, "some people are weird like this, aren't they?"

After Jenny's phone rang scaring her and her best friend Lee, 'Haunted Hospital' got into the terrifying details of Vanessa's story, which she described as a "horrifying night."

The 'Gogglebox' cast screamed as a dark figure appeared on screen behind the group of friends in the show. Roisin said, "f**k, that was scary!" Things got scarier moments later as Jenny shouted, "it's gone in the woman, it's gone in the woman!" 'Gogglebox' star Helena quickly realised that the woman named Bonnie had been possessed.

As the episode continued we see Bonnie dashing around the dark hospital, seemingly not in control of her own body. Lisa admitted, "sorry, I'm not going to sleep tonight, this is not funny." We see Bonnie's friends repeatedly slapping her around the face, trying to snap her out of the dark trance. Sophie joked, "any excuse to hit Bonnie."

Jane told her brother, "I don't ever want to be possessed." Simon replied in disbelief, "you're not really scared of this, are you?" In the climax of the episode, the dark ghostly figure reemerged, giving the 'Gogglebox' cast one final scare.

This isn't the first time a paranormal-themed show has faced Channel 4's armchair critics. Last month the gang watched an episode of 'Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted', which saw a team of British ghost hunters investigate the home of pop star, Toyah Willcox, which resulted in one member of the team being chocked by unseen hands.

Last year the cast of 'Celebrity Gogglebox' watched an episode of series three of the show. Stars including Denise van Outen, Martine McCutcheon and chart-topping Ed Sheeran watched Ian help a couple troubled by a dark attachment in the historic town of Gorleston-on-Sea.

The 'Gogglebox' families have also previously watched Netflix's supernatural series, 'Surviving Death', which had Leeds-based Ellie screaming at her sister, Izzi, "I don't wanna see no ghosts," but it was the trance medium in the episode who got the big response in the form of laughter and mocking from the cast.

The famous families also watched 'Paranormal Lockdown' in an earlier episode. Pete told his little sister Sophie, "I don't mind ghosts and s**t, I don't find any of this stuff scary". But Sophie admitted, "I buy into this, me. I'd never do a Ouija board, but I do like this kind of stuff."