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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Mia O'Hare

Ricky Gervais under fire from Nottinghamshire ghost hunters after comments on Netflix's SuperNature

A Nottinghamshire ghost hunting team has hit back at comedian Ricky Gervais over his comment that there is "no such thing as ghosts" by saying they are more than just a gimmick. Retford Ghost Hunters have invited the world famous writer and comedian along to one of their ghost hunts to prove him wrong.

The paranormal investigating team from Retford posted a public statement to address Gervais' comments. Managing Director, Rachel Parsons, made the statement in a video posted to the group’s social media pages addressing comments he [Gervais] made on his new Netflix special, SuperNature.

The controversial star, who rose to fame by writing and starring in sitcoms such as The Office and Derek, suggested that there were “no such thing as ghosts” and that ghost hunters “have thousands and thousands of hours of footage and they’ve never seen a *expletive* ghost, not one”.

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The comedian goes on to mock ghost hunting teams and suggested that if wildlife programmes were the same, nobody would watch them. Rachel, 50, has been a paranormal investigator for over 20 years and said: “I find the world of the unknown so appealing and I have done so from being a child. I have also seen spirit and have had some alarming experiences since childhood.”

She says since becoming a paranormal investigator, she’s never felt so free and happy. She also admits that she and her team may “never find the answers but we sure do have fun trying”.

In her statement, ghost hunter Rachel says: “I’ve been asked a lot about Ricky Gervais’ comments on his new Netflix show, SuperNature, regarding ghost hunters. I’d like to make it clear that I love Ricky Gervais and he is one of my favourite comedians, and it’s obvious that his comments are in jest and not to be taken seriously because it’s nothing more than a joke.

“People making jokes and poking fun at what we do is not something new to us, and everyone is more than entitled to their opinion and it certainly won’t stop us. A serious side to Ricky’s comments is that we do find evidence of the supernatural regularly and have absolutely no doubt in our minds that ghosts are real, and we can continuously provide evidence of this.

"Whilst these comments are not something we’re offended by; it is something we felt we needed to address to assure people that what we are more than a gimmick and are always working hard to find evidence of the paranormal”.

Rachel ends her statement by jokingly inviting the world-famous writer and comedian along to one of their ghost hunts, which they live stream on Facebook three nights per week, to experience what they do and then make up his own mind from there.

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