"The Phantom of Ashdene Ridge" is the 15th episode in Series 5 of The Dumping Ground and the 82nd episode overall. It aired on October 27, 2017.
Characters[]
- Mike Milligan
- Tyler Lewis
- Jody Jackson
- Floss Guppy
- May-Li Wang
- Kazima Tako
- Ryan Reeves
- Billie Trent
- Toni Trent
- Finn McLaine
- Sasha Bellman
- Dexter Bellman
- Chloe Reeves
- Joseph Stubbs
- Archie Able
- Taz De Souza
- Candi-Rose
- Mimi Blunt
- Lottie Blunt
- Lauren (mentioned)
Synopsis[]
It's Halloween, and Tyler and the DG gang investigate the ghostly tale of old Lady Thriftpenny.
Plot[]
It's Halloween at the Dumping Ground and Tyler is telling scary stories when the kids become scared after the door to the living room soon opens, only to reveal a woman who introduces herself as Mimi Blunt, Ashdene Ridge's new night manager. Meanwhile, most of the kids and Mike are attending a Halloween show apart from Tyler, Candi-Rose, Joseph, Chloe and Alex (who turn down going). While Tyler, Candi-Rose, Joseph and Chloe are bobbing for apples, Tyler continues to tell his ghost story; the legend of Lady Thriftpenny, a widow who died at Ashdene Ridge and was known for her vanity. She apparently appears in mirrors if people look long enough in them but their story is interrupted by Alex mocking them for what they're doing (to Tyler's annoyance). Mimi soon comes in and states that she wants to make a good impression on Mike, so she has decided to have the house tidied and needs them to help her do so (to their dismay).
While Tyler is mopping the floor in the kitchen, he knocks into the skirting board when he notices something in there; a diary, which he proclaims as their Halloween. It was written by a former care kid at Ashdene Ridge back in the 1980s who believed in the story of Lady Thriftpenny (though no-one else did) and found that she hired an artist back in the 1920s to paint a portrait of herself. Unfortunately, Thriftpenny was dissatisfied with the painting, was driven mad and died in the attic before the painting could be finished (with her face in it left blank). The writer also intended to confront the ghost but wrote that if anything happened to them, then give their love to their sister Lottie (both of whom are depicted in a photo with the diary) when they're overheard by Mimi. After finding that the ending has been ripped out, the kids are left wondering what happened when Candi-Rose sees what she believes to be the ghost until Mimi enters. Tyler attempts to explain to her that they found the diary, but she refuses to listen, instead accusing them of stealing it and places it in the office until Mike returns.
Tyler attempts to convince the other kids to get involved in a ghost hunt for Lady Thriftpenny (thinking about how famous they'll be if they discovered it). He opts for himself and Joseph to search the attic where Alex begins teasing them while Chloe and Candi-Rose try to get the diary back. When Alex starts antagonising Tyler, Joseph soon finds a secret door while Candi-Rose realises that Mimi's got a receipt for the theatre but are caught by Mimi. Tyler states that Mike has told them about how there's another attic in Ashdene Ridge which he has always kept locked (though it seems it isn't now) and he and Alex take a look while Chloe and Candi-Rose claim that they're in the office for Chloe's "comfort pen" when a storm causes a power outage. While looking around in the attic, Joseph finds that the artist of Lady Thriftpenny's painting was Christophe Messin who once had a painting sold for a lot of money while the girls find that all of the pictures on the wall have been turned around and someone's painted footprints on the floor.
After Tyler looks through some old artifacts (and is teased by Alex after he thinks he's found the painting of Lady Thriftpenny, only to find out otherwise), a woman's wailing is heard and Mimi states her intent to deal with the electrics (though Chloe attempts to protest). After Joseph runs out of the attic scared, Tyler attempts to find him while Chloe and Candi-Rose are able to get the diary and leave after Candi-Rose gets scared. Tyler soon sees what he believes to be Alex messing around, only for Alex to turn up and the two are left running away from what they believe to be the ghost. Chloe soon finds Candi-Rose in their room and snaps at her when Candi-Rose is still scared, while finding the door is jammed. While Tyler and Alex are in the bathroom and leave in an attempt to face the ghost (only to get scared by a stuffed dog from the attic), Candi-Rose confesses to have always been scared and she and her sister would always hide under their bed whenever they heard someone coming up the stairs. Halloween, meanwhile, was the one time when she wasn't the only one who got scared (for which Chloe apologises for).
The kids are soon found and told off by Mimi for apparently tricking her on her first night when they attempt to inform her of what's going on. Chloe then states that Mimi is apparently the ghost; she's been trying to distract them in having them do all the cleaning and got the tickets because she wanted them all out of the house (though she attempts to state otherwise) when the "ghost" appears right behind Mimi. While Mimi goes to investigate, Chloe rallies the kids to work together and stop the ghost. Knowing the painting is connected, Tyler decides to find it and a lamp in the attic with Candi-Rose and Joseph while Alex traps Mimi in his room and Chloe searches the office. With the lamp, the moon shines a bright light onto a wall in the attic when Tyler realises it's focused on a specific brick that he pulls out. After finding a lever, he pulls it to find Lady Thriftpenny's lost painting. They and Alex then have to escape the ghost until they get to the living room where Tyler discovers a locket in the photo of the two sisters while Chloe finds that Mimi's actual name is Keren. The ghost attempts to look for the kids, only to get tripped over, tied up and unmasked by them.
It turns out that "Mimi" (which is really her middle name) is actually Keren, the girl who wrote the diary and has the missing pages (which is why she took the diary) and she and her sister (the ghost) were in the photo. She actually had intents on finding the painting, but left before she could and came back to finish the work she started upon finding out how much the painting was worth. She decided to come on Halloween so that she could get it on a day where she could find the painting while disguising her sister with paint and old clothes from the loft and a hoverboard. Mimi attempts to escape with the painting while leaving her sister, but she accidently trips over, wrecking the painting and also leaving both of them to be arrested. Mike and the rest of the kids soon return to find out what has happened while Tyler thanks his fellow ghostbusters and he, Joseph and Candi-Rose tell the story of the Phantom of Ashdene Ridge to the rest of the kids.
Trivia[]
- This is the second episode to end with a cartoon animation (after The Wardrobe) and the first to open with one.
- While there have been previous episodes focused around spooks and scares that have been repeated around Halloween time, this is the first episode in the Tracy Beaker franchise about Halloween.
- A carrying case from the children's TV show Thomas & Friends is seen near the entrance of the attic once Tyler and Joseph get up there.
- Tyler's frustration at Alex ruining his stories by interrupting them is similar to how Tyler did so with Johnny in the Tracy Beaker Returns series 3 episode Shadows.
- The way Mimi's sister Lottie was chasing Tyler, Joseph, Candi-Rose and Alex is similar to the TV show Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, as is her telling the kids that she would've been able to get away with it if it wasn't for them.
- Even though Ashdene Ridge was only founded in September 2013 which is shown when Mike bringing in boxes, Mimi and Lottie somehow lived there. It appears that possibly Ashdene Ridge was a private owned care home until it was sold to Pottiswood council.
Cast[]
- Connor Byrne as Mike
- Stacy Liu as May-Li
- Miles Butler-Hughton as Tyler
- Connor Lawson as Alex
- Yousef Naseer as Joseph
- Carma Hylton as Candi-Rose
- Hannah Moncur as Chloe
- Alexander Aze as Dexter
- Jethro Baliba as Archie
- Gwen Currant as Billie
- Nelly Currant as Toni
- Annabelle Davis as Sasha
- Lewis Hamilton as Ryan
- Kia Pegg as Jody
- Sarah Rayson as Floss
- Ruben Reuter as Finn
- Jasmine Uson as Taz
- Stirling Gallacher as Mimi Blunt