A haunted life: how Danny Robins became Britain’s high priest of the paranormal

Once a struggling comedy writer, he is now a highly successful podcast presenter and playwright. His secret? Ghosts

Danny Robins has never seen a ghost and it troubles him, even if, he says, he is torn between wanting proof, and yet being terrified by what that would mean". Instead, he lives vicariously - as we all do, those of us who are fans of his podcasts - through the people who tell him their ghost stories.

Robins has become Britain's most famous collector of paranormal experiences; his 2021 podcast The Battersea Poltergeist, was a huge hit, and his latest, The Witch Farm, is a creepy investigation into a haunted remote farmhouse in Wales. He has made two series of Uncanny, in which he interviews people who claim to have had a paranormal experience and scrutinises their stories. There's his West End play 2.22 A Ghost Story, and he is about to bring Uncanny to TV, with a BBC Two show, as well as a live tour. It's quite a twist of fate - Robins likes the idea of fate - for the man who, not so long ago, was down to his last fiver.