Show Notes
Ghost In The Machine is a standalone Christmas drama set within the world of Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey. At its heart is Sophie Aldred, travelling the cosmos aboard the ageing but indomitable research vessel Nosferatu 2.5. At her side is Hobbes, the ship’s impeccably mannered automaton butler, whose devotion to protocol is matched only by his anxiety about malfunctioning systems and doors that refuse to open. Together, they explore time, memory, and fandom itself — occasionally dipping into the vast psychic archive known as the Ffantaface, where thought, history, and imagination overlap.
This Christmas, the ship drifts into dangerous territory. As power falters and old systems begin to awaken, Sophie is drawn into a mystery buried deep within the Nosferatu’s past. A presence makes itself known. A song returns. And a door — long sealed for good reason — begins to matter. Ghost In The Machine is a haunting, atmospheric story that blends folk horror and science fiction, asking what happens when technology remembers the people who once gave it life. A ghost story for Christmas… on a spaceship.
Cast Ghost In The Machine stars Sophie Aldred with Nicolas Briggs as Fred Carole Ann Ford as The Pilot Colin Baker as the Narrator Russell T Davies as The Ffantaface and James Showers as Hobbes Music, Sound Design, Sound Effects and Post-Production: Michael Livesley www.michaellivesley.co.uk
Written, Produced and Directed by: Paul Carmichael
About the Series Every Sunday, Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey invites listeners aboard the Nosferatu 2.5 for conversations with guests from across film, television, and cult science fiction. Sophie has welcomed Sylvester McCoy, Katy Manning, Janet Fielding, Susan Twist, and Jamie Anderson, alongside deep dives into the Ffantaface — meeting people who turned Doctor Who into something more than a television programme. All the while, one mystery persists… the door we still can’t open. Available on all podcast platforms.
Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey is an Eh? Aye! Production © 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Sophie Aldred's Ace Odyssey
Something has come aboard the Nosferatu 2.5, and it has taken an interest in Sophie. When Lisa Bowerman arrives by Time Scoop, she seems to be carrying more than a little temporal residue. An intelligence is reaching out through her, and it knows something about Sophie that perhaps Sophie herself does not yet understand. But who, or what, is it? And what happens when something that has been calling from a distance finally finds its way aboard?
There are libraries full of books. There are libraries full of knowledge. And then, apparently, there are libraries aboard the Nosferatu 2.5 where the books have started becoming rather selective about who gets to exist in them.
Some stories are about monsters, some are about impossible planets, and some are about the rather more dangerous territory of memory, belonging and the places we still think of as home.
Welcome aboard the Nosferatu 2.5 for a rather special journey through the wider world of Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey for August Bank Holiday weekend!