20 Years Since The First Episode Where Are The 'Most Haunted' Cast Now?

May 25, 2022 1:00 AM ‐ TelevisionMost HauntedParanormalLong Reads

This article is more than two years old and was last updated in February 2024.

Most Haunted Live 2021
On May 25, 2002 Yvette Fielding welcomed viewers of Living TV to a brand new paranormal show. In two decades 'Most Haunted' has notched up 24 series, over 250 episodes and countless hours of live broadcasts, all of which has seen Yvette and her team visit more than 400 different haunted locations across the UK.

This month the show turns 20, so to celebrate we're looking back at some of the show's most memorable present and former team members and answering the question "where are they now?" Find out who became a member of the European parliament, which ghost hunter is now enrolled in the RAF, and which former team member now lives in the United States.

Yvette Fielding

Most Haunted - Yvette Fielding

As the show's host for 20 years, Yvette is still very much at the forefront of 'Most Haunted'. Although the show hasn't been on television since 2019, she's lead the team on countless investigations on the show's official YouTube channel and even invited a live audience along to two live Halloween specials in recent years.

However, Yvette did recently hint in an interview on GB News that the long-running ghost hunting series might soon return to television with a run of 60 new episodes. Yvette told Mark Dolan, "it's very exciting, because we just sold 60 episodes to the United States, and then I think they're coming over here to the UK, which is really exciting."

Yvette didn't elaborate on the deal, which would mean that new episodes of the British ghost hunting series would air on a US television network, but would be syndicated back to the UK to another of the network's channels or partners here in the UK.

Aside from the show itself, Yvette has spent a lot of her time over the last few years meeting fans at public ghost hunts hosted by the show's spin-off paranormal events company, Most Haunted Experience, which allows fans of the show to visit some of the locations seen on television and hunt for spooks with the stars of the show, including Yvette, Karl, Stuart, Glen, Fred, Gregg and Darren.

In 2015, Yvette traded ghosts for jungle critters, as she appeared in the 15th series of reality show, 'I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'. Yvette finished 10th in the series, which was eventually won by 'Geordie Shore' star, Vicky Pattison.

Yvette has also been busy writing. Over the last few years she's released two children's books, the first was entitled 'Archie the Ghost Hunter'. Then in 2021, Yvette released the first book in a new series of kids books called, 'The Ghost Hunter Chronicles'. The first book in the series, 'The House In The Woods' is available now. The second book, 'The Ripper of Whitechapel' will be released later this year, and Yvette is just finishing up the third instalment.

Proving that her passion for things the go bump in the night remains, Yvette has recently launched her own weekly podcast called 'Paranormal Activity', which covers topics including ghosts, UFOs, psychics, monsters, witchcraft and much more.

More From 'Most Haunted'

For more from Yvette and the gang, check out our 'Most Haunted' hub, where you will find up to date news on the show, highlights and evidence from the latest investigations, and a complete 'Most Haunted' episode guide.

Karl Beattie

Karl Beattie

Karl is not only Yvette's husband, but the co-creator of 'Most Haunted', and has been a familiar face on the show since its first episode. Like his wife, Karl spends most weekends at haunted locations with fans of the show on Most Haunted Experience events.

When he's not on ghost hunts, Karl is the driving force behind 'Most Haunted'. He edits and produces the episodes which currently appear on the show's YouTube channel. Recently, Karl's been experimenting with other forms of content and has produced two short documentaries on ghost ships. He's even tried his hand at making nature videos in the last couple of years.

Stuart Torevell

Most Haunted Short At HMP Shrewsbury Prison

Stuart is the cousin of Yvette and has been a part of the show since day one. He's had some pretty terrifying investigations to date, including the infamous Ancient Ram Inn in Wotton-under-Edge, where a paranormal scare lead to him loosing his hair due to alopecia.

Stuart has been a regular on the show right up to its move to YouTube and to the present day. He's also found most week's on Most Haunted Experience events, where he loves to get involved in a bit of table tipping with the guests. When he's not chasing spooks, Stuart drives trucks - a job he loves, but often talks about how people at the branches of the retail chains he delivers to are surprised to see "the bloke from 'Most Haunted'" show up with their stock.

Ciarán O'Keeffe

Ciarán O'Keeffe

Ciarán was the show's resident parapsychologist between 2004 and 2010, this means the open-minded skeptic has featured in roughly half of the episodes of 'Most Haunted' to date. Ciarán is still a very much respected and active part of the paranormal community, and also the head of the Buckinghamshire New University's psychology department where he specialises as a parapsychologist.

Ciarán has made countless television and media appearances over the years, most recently as one of the armchair critiques on Really channel's 'Unexplained: Caught on Camera', and featured in Danny Robins' hugely successful podcasts 'The Battersea Poltergeist' and 'Uncanny'.

Recently, Ciarán has written 'Ghosted! Exploring the Haunting Reality of Paranormal Encounters', a forthcoming book co-authored by four other prominent names in the paranormal world. He also shares his knowledge in an online courses through his School of Parapsychology.

Derek Acorah

Derek Acorah

The show's first and most famous resident psychic medium was Derek Acorah, who passed away in 2020. Derek was an important part of the show from its inception and lasted three years, but he was infamously outed after an incident at Bodmin Jail in Cornwall.

In one of the old prison cells Derek got possessed by a violent spirit who identified himself as a South African jailer called Kreed Kafer. While in the trance, Derek shouted and aggressively knocked over various objects in the museum. However, it was later revealed that Ciarán had set Derek up to test his abilities.

In a 2005 radio interview with Chris Moyles, Yvette said, "Ciaran left a piece of paper around with the name 'Kreed Kafer' on it and said, within earshot of Derek, that he was a nasty South African jailor."

She added, "when we started filming, Derek decided to get possessed by this fake person. The name is actually an anagram of Derek Faker. We tell people everything is real, then it turns out he was a fake, so he had to go." Ciaran has also gone on record to defend his outing of Derek, "I only devised this plan to see if Derek was deliberately hoodwinking the public."

Despite his controversial exit from 'Most Haunted', Derek maintained a huge fan base and went on to appear in his own short-lived show, Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns', and has since made appearances on a whole host of shows including 'Doctor Who', 'Celebrity Juice' and 'Harry Hill's TV Burp'. He also regularly took his psychic abilities on tour, most recently on his 2019 'The Eternal Life Tour'.

In 2017, Derek was a contestant in the 20th series of 'Celebrity Big Brother', along with 15 other celebrities who all lived together in the famous house at Elstree Studios - a location Derek had previously investigated due to its haunted reputation. Derek eventually finished fourth in the series.

Sadly, in January 2020, Derek passed away aged 69 after a short illness. His wife, Gwen, announced the news in a Facebook post on the medium's official Facebook page. She wrote, "I'm devastated to announce that my beloved husband Derek has passed away after a very brief illness."

Richard Felix

Richard Felix

The 'Most Haunted' team first met paranormal historian, Richard Felix, when they investigated his Derby attraction, the old gaol as part of the first series. He went on to join the team as a regular from series two in 2003, through until the show's eighth series five years later.

Since leaving 'Most Haunted', Derbyshire-born Richard has remained an active part of the paranormal community and still runs Derby Gaol to this day and hosts regular ghost walks in his home town of Derby. He's a familiar face on live streams and paranormal discussions.

Richard is without a doubt one of the best storytellers in the paranormal world and has a vast knowledge and expertise of ghost stories, local legends and myths from all over the country. He shares many of these tales in a collection of DVDs he released called 'Ghost Tour of Great Britain', as well as an accompanying series of books.

The paranormal historian has also toured the UK with Derek Acorah for their live stage show 'Psychic & Science', hosted paranormal podcasts, and is the author of the book 'What Is A Ghost?'.

David Wells

David Wells, Most Haunted

David Wells started out as a guest medium on 'Most Haunted' in 2004, appearing in several episodes including those filmed at the Guildhall in Leicester, West Bromwich's Manor House Restaurant, and the Greengate Brewery in Middleton. He continued to appear as a guest medium throughout 2005, alongside Derek Acorah, but eventually replacing him in the show's seventh series.

Since leaving the show in 2007, David has worked as an astrologer for several large newspapers and magazines, including the Metro and the Daily Mirror. He also continues to work as a medium, now offering training to others through a series of books, online courses, mentorship and workshops covering everything from past life regression, spiritual development, meditation and psychic development.

Fred Batt

Fred Batt, Demonologist at The Clock House

Fred first appeared in 'Most Haunted' in the second series when Yvette, Derek and the team went to investigate his home in the Surrey Hills known as the Clock House. Fred went on to make appearances on several of the legendary 'Most Haunted Live!' events, which included one of Fred's proudest moments - a brush with the Devil in Prague.

Fred became a regular member of the 'Most Haunted' team in 2014 and now makes appearances at Most Haunted Experience events, mostly in the south of England. During his time on the show as the resident demonologist, Fred's has become well known for his demonic incantations. The Latin chants come from a large book of shadows that he is often seen carrying on screen.

Away from 'Most Haunted' Fred has a longstanding love for luxury cars, having worked with brands like Rolls Royce for more than 50 years. In recent years Fred's mostly been selling Bentleys. His own Bentley is identifiable by the personalised number plate, a slogan at the bottom of the plate reads "I ain't afraid of no ghosts".

Darren Hutchinson

Darren Hutchinson At Birmingham Central Lock-Up - Most Haunted

Darren Hutchinson has been the 'Most Haunted' sound man since 2014, but has worked in television all his life. It's fair to say that Darren is the most cowardly member of the team, especially when teamed up with Fred.

In recent years, Darren occasionally makes appearances at Most Haunted Experience events and continues to work with the team, most notably as part of their annual Halloween live streams, but away from the show Darren is busy running his own video production company.

Glen Hunt

Most Haunted Extra At Ruthin Castle, HMP Shrewsbury & Armley Mill

Glen Hunt is Most Haunted's resident skeptic, his role includes walking around the property with Yvette at the start of each episode and giving a more rational and balanced opinion on the reported activity there. Glen might be a skeptic, but says he is an open minded one. Like other team members, viewers can also get the chance to meet Glen at various Most Haunted Experience events across the country.

Glen has plenty going on besides 'Most Haunted' as an established radio presenter on such stations as BBC Radio Lancashire, and the host of the 'Anytime Podcast', a comedy podcast which he presents with Yvette.

Lesley Smith

Lesley Smith, Most Haunted

Lesley Smith first made a guest appearance in the second series of the show in 2003 as the curator of Tutbury Castle, but in 2008 returned as the show's resident historian. She also featured prominently in the spin-off series, 'Midsummer Murders'.

Lesley left Yvette and the gang in 2008, but remains at Tutbury Castle. She took on the role of public relations officer there in 2000, a role she holds to this day, as well as being the leaseholder of the castle.

Matthew Smith

Matthew Smith - Most Haunted

Matthew Smith first appeared on the Christmas 2002 edition of 'Most Haunted Live!' which was broadcast from the imposing Dover Castle. He went on to join the team on several live shows, in which he was based in the studio and divided the audience with his rational take on the paranormal.

From 2003, Matthew would also pop up at the end of each of the episodes of the show to give his rational and skeptical opinion on the events the team experienced during their investigation. Matthew's last appearance on 'Most Haunted' was in 2006, since then he's continued to work as a psychologist and parapsychologist based at the Buckinghamshire New University.

Gregg Smith

Most Haunted's Gregg Smith At Beaumanor Hall

Gregg studied psychology for three years at the University of Manchester, before deciding to retrain in media, he holds a BA Hons in Media and Business Studies, which made him well suited to take on the role of camera man on the show.

Although Gregg is usually found behind the camera, from time to time he is seen and gets involved by calling out to the spirits. When he does, he comes across as one of the most clear, confident, calm and respectful member of the team.

Gregg continues to work on the show and with Most Haunted Experience to this day, but away from the world of the paranormal, Gregg shoots and produces commercial and corporate video for a wide range of clients.

David Bull

David Bull & Claudia Liza - TalkTV
Photo: © TalkTV

David was the original studio host of 'Most Haunted Live' until being replaced by Paul Ross in 2008. Since leaving his paranormal hosting duties, David went on to make his American television debut in 2010 on the daytime talk show 'The Rachael Ray Show' and later hosted the Food Network's series 'Sugar Dome', which was also broadcast in the UK.

David has also been focussing on his political career, which included a stint as a Brexit Party MEP. He was one of a group of MEPs who turned their backs during the European anthem at parliament's opening session. This famously resulted in David and his colleagues being described as "Brexit Party w**kers" by comedian David Baddiel.

In April of this year, David began hosting a weekend breakfast show on the newly launch channel TalkTV with his co-host, former Channel 5 newsreader Claudia Liza.

Catherine Howe

Catherine Howe, Most Haunted

Catherine Howe, the former makeup artist for 'Most Haunted', worked on 153 episodes of the show from 2003 to 2010. As well as working behind the scenes, she was a favourite on camera and was known as the "screamer." Her last appearance was in the 2010 episode shot in Belsay Hall for series 15.

After leaving the show, Cath has gone on to host private ghost tours but is not credited as working on any other television productions either in person or providing her hair and makeup skills, but she still works in the hair and beauty industry, now in a privately owned salon.

Phil Whyman

Most Haunted Live! Peril In St. Pancras - Phil Whyman

Although Nottingham-born paranormal investigator, Phil Whyman, only appeared alongside Yvette in three of the early series of 'Most Haunted' as well as several live shows, he is one of the most memorable former members of the team. Since 'Most Haunted', Phil has published a book entitled 'Dead Haunted', for a time ran his own ghost hunting company, also called 'Dead Haunted', and was a regular columnist on the now defunct magazine, 'Chat It's Fate'.

More recently Phil has devised a well-respected paranormal web series with his wife, Sara. 'Are You Haunted..?' sees the couple, alongside a team of experienced investigators, come together to pick the most interesting cases they've each received before embarking on a back-to-basics investigation, relying on their own senses rather than questionable ghost hunting gadgets.

Eamonn Vann-Harris

Eamonn Vann-Harris

Eamonn joined the Most Haunted team in 2015 as their resident EVP specialist, which basically means he's very good at capturing recordings of spirit voices using an array of specialist equipment. His last appearance was at The Ripon Prison & Police Museum halfway through series 20.

His kit varied, but the aim was always to pick up sounds and voices not audible to the human ear. This involved the use of multiple microphones, which were sometimes connected to a real-to-reel tape machine or a laptop. As well as the use of his invention, the Infinity machine.

After appearing in 31 episodes, Eamonn left the show due to a new job, which was taking up more of his time. He said, "with so many commitments I had to let something go - had a great time though." However, he didn't rule out a return at some point. When asked if he'd ever make a guest appearance in a future episode, he said "you never know."

Eamonn still finds time to tinker with his spirit communication kit and has most recently been working and experimenting with a machine called Pegasus, the next iteration of the his Infinity machine that was regularly seen on 'Most Haunted'.

Julian Clegg

Most Haunted Live! The Dead Centre Of England

Julian Clegg was a regular presenter of 'Most Haunted Live!' and was responsible for manning the interactive hub during the broadcasts and reading out viewers messages. Julian's last night with the team was in 2010 during their four-night-long investigation in Prague.

Away from 'Most Haunted', Julian is a radio presenter and was the host of the BBC Radio Solent breakfast show. In 2019, after almost 23 years, Julian hung up his headphones. His final show coincided with his 60th birthday. During his last broadcast for the station, a young caller asked Julian why he was leaving. He replied, "because I'm very old and need to have a lie-in."

Rick Fielding

Rick Fielding, Most Haunted

Yvette's brother Rick Fielding was one of the original members of the 'Most Haunted' crew when it first aired on LivingTV in 2002. He left the show at the end of series four in 2004 and now lives in the United States. However, Rick did make a return as a guest investigator in the 2019 series of the show in a three-part investigation filmed at Hodroyd Hall in Yorkshire.

Paul Ross

Paul Ross, Most Haunted

Paul took over from David Bull as the studio host of 'Most Haunted Live!'. He first joined the team in 2005 for their three-night live in Merseyside, and went on to host a further 16 live shows for the team.

Since 'Most Haunted', Paul has continued to be a regular face on British television on shows including 'Big Brother's Bit on the Side', and was a regular on 'This Morning' for over a decade until 2014. Away from television, Paul has had a career in radio and since his ghost hunting days has presented for the BBC on their local stations in Sussex, Surrey, London and Berkshire. In 2016 Paul made the move to commercial radio to present on talkRADIO and talkSPORT, which continued until April 2022.

Mel Crump

Yvette Fielding & Mel Crump Most Haunted

Mel Crump appeared throughout just one series of 'Most Haunted' in 2014, featuring in a total of nine episodes. Her main role on the show was as the makeup artist, but during her time with 'Most Haunted' she was a prominent part of the team, featuring alongside Yvette in each of the locations they investigated.

On her first investigation at the Royal Court Theatre, Mel said, "I can't believe I used to watch this and now I'm in it," Yvette laughed just before they heard a set of keys being thrown. During her time on the show, she went ghost hunting with Welsh rock band Bullet for my Valentine and five members of the English rugby team.

She left the show to start her own makeup academy in her hometown of Bath.

Mary Beattie

Mary Beattie's Witchcraft Wednesdays

As her name alludes to, Mary Beattie is the daughter of Yvette and Karl. She first appeared as part of the team in the early-2019 series of 'Most Haunted' during an "as-live" investigation of Eden Camp in Malton, North Yorkshire. She's also a regular on Most Haunted Experience events with her parents.

Despite being young and only appearing in two episodes of the series, Mary proved herself to be a confident and balanced investigator, and was very popular with fans of the show.

Mary returned for an investigation with the team in October 2019, when Yvette and the team hosted a live investigation from the abandoned and very creepy Accrington Police Station & Courts, which was streamed on YouTube on the night of Halloween. Later in the year, Mary teamed up with Yvette and embarked on a mini investigation of the stunning Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield, a large manor house in the Cheshire countryside, which never fails to deliver paranormal activity.

In 2020, during the global coronavirus lockdown, Mary used her time stuck at home to learn about the ancient practice of witchcraft and launched a series of nine videos called 'Witchcraft Wednesday' that documented her exploration and shared tips and spells with viewers.

Since then, Mary has joined the RAF and graduated into the force in November 2021, but she still tries to attend the odd Most Haunted Experience event when she's on leave.

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