Rentaghost with limited success, to involve the ghosts in his latest business enterprise. When actor Michael Darbyshire (who played the role of Davenport) died in 1979, Anthony Jackson (Mumford) declined to appear in the next series, leaving Michael Staniforth's Claypole the sole original ghost; Davenport and Mumford's absences were explained at the start of the series by the pair having gone on an extended tour of stately home hauntings. After Mumford's departure, the business was taken over by Harold Meaker and his wife Ethel, who suffered from the various problems the ghosts brought to their lives. The long-suffering neighbours of Rentaghost
Rentaghost the last series was the cellar of the Meakers' house. The house's power was provided by a pantomime dragon called Bernie St. John ("St. John" in this instance is correctly pronounced "Sinjun", making the dragon's name an obvious play on words), who was brought to life by Claypole and served as a furnace. If anyone entered the cellar, all characters present would shout together, "Don't go into the cellar!", and a few moments later whoever went in would return charred and covered in soot. Only the first series of "Rentaghost" was released on VHS and DVD, with rights issues holding