I can upon this tv show by accident, never heard of it or Harry Price. I read the reviews, some negative and a few positives. I'm glad to say I'm glad I watched it. The story is not based on Harry Price life, it's not a biography. Writers used his character and wrote a story for entertaining purposes. Would have liked to see this made into a TV series.

Apparently the real Harry Price was a well regarded paranormal investigator who had a reputation for exposing fakes.This ITV made for television film had all the hallmarks for being a potential pilot to a series. However the very poor ratings it received over the Christmas period makes any series very unlikely.Rafe Spall played Harry Price dragged out of self exposed exile in the 1920s to look into the case of a leading politician's wife who is displaying bizarre behaviour and having haunting visions of a drowned child in a big house they recently moved into.Harry Price is adamant that their is a rational explanation to all this. The smarmy politician, who seems to be based partly on David Cameron with his 'we are all in it together' quip near the start of the programme has other motives in engaging Price to look into his wife's strange condition at a politically sensitive time for him.Well I was not sure what to make of the husband's own behaviour because the character was so badly written which to me lessened a lot of the mystery. He does not want Price snooping around, he does not want him to talk to his wife. He will not even engage medical doctors to treat his wife. Given the way he was behaving over his wife's condition why did anyone reckon he was potential Prime Minister was beyond me!Price with the assistance of the household's combative maid delves deep onto this mystery but really it was rather shallow, plodding and over-long. When Price is not moping around with memories of his own dead wife or the soldier who killed himself in front of him displays the whizz bang of the modern day Sherlock (I noticed the film had a cameo from David Burke who was Dr Watson version 1 in the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series) and the demystification of Jonathan Creek without the humour and agility.

I thought this was excellent, and would love to see a series come out of it.Everyone has been saying that Rafe Spall looks nothing like the real Harry Price, but does it matter in the scheme of things??? I just thought it was an excellent story, and would love to see more.I love ghost stories, real ghost stories that is, not horror, blood, guts and gore, so this was just perfect for me.I think if you want to see a true to life programme, go to the biography channel or look up Harry Price online, there are lots of details on his website.I for one thought Rafe was excellent, and would love to see more programmes like this instead of the usual reality housewives/singety sing song sing drivel.Well done ITV for once.

This fictional story is inspired by the real Harry Price, a 'psychic researcher' who investigated supposed supernatural phenomena and exposed fraudulent spiritualists. In this feature length drama, set in the early '20s, Harry is called into find out why Grace, the wife of Liberal MP Edward Goodwin, is behaving strangely after moving into their new house. The party are determined to ensure that her strange behaviour doesn't damage her husband's prospects. She is convinced that there is somebody else in the house but Harry can't find anything obvious. As the investigation continues Harry ends up working with Sarah Grey, the maid, who believes that he is a fraud.When I watched this I had no idea that Harry Price was a real person so had little idea what to expect; this might be the best way to enjoy it as this way it works as both a mystery and as a ghost story right until the resolution. The story grabbed in the opening scene when a soldier kills himself in front of Harry after taking some banal advice the wrong way… this brief scene explains why Harry stopped acting as a spiritualist himself. The central mystery is interesting which kept me guessing as to who was responsible and why. The central characters are fun to watch; even though at times it feels as if this is a pilot for a possible series; the ending, where Harry asks Sarah to become his assistant on a more permanent basis, certainly suggests that there could be more if the ratings are good enough… and if there is I'd certainly watch. The supposed supernatural elements are shown in a way that leaves the possibility that there is a ghost as well as the possibility that we are just seeing what a deluded/drugged person may be seeing. The cast are impressive; Rafe Spall is solid as Harry and Cara Theobold is likable as Sarah; the central pair. They are ably supported by the likes of Tom Ward, Zoe Boyle and Richie Campbell.Overall I'd recommend this to people who enjoy a mystery and don't want any offensive material; even the brief nudity is shown in a way that shows almost nothing without the contrivance of conveniently placed items.