Oi, you poached our astrologer.
Did we?

Well, he won’t write for us now.
I’m really sorry. We didn’t mean to nick him. We just saw this fabulous talent. He’s bloody amazing. He’s the best medium I have ever worked with. He makes you realise just how bad fake ones are.

Why do you never do anywhere that has no obvious spooky history that can be researched by the mediums?
Down the line, we want to be able to make a programme where we take haunted locations but have one that is not haunted and see if the mediums can work out which is which. We know it’s a stick that people beat us with, that the medium could know the history of a place.

Why are mediums often camp?
Most tend to be either women or camp men. Perhaps it’s something to do with sensitivity. I have never come across the Mr T version of a medium, that’s for sure. Can you imagine Mr T talking to his spirit guide? [Adopts Mr T voice]: ‘No fool. I can’t hear what you’re saying. I don’t believe in no ghosts.’

After eight series of the show, do you now believe in ghosts?
I’m now leaning towards their existence. In the series on TV at the moment, we caught something on camera no one can explain. We did a show on two ships moored in Dundee harbour. On one, we have caught on camera a rope bending as though someone was putting pressure on it. We’ve also had increases in activity. We seem to be seeing more objects thrown at us and more instances of poltergeist activity. I’m not saying I believe 100 per cent in ghosts but the rope has pushed me closer to believing.

Why do you think you are witnessing more phenomena?
Because we’ve had the same group of people working on the show for a long time. Some will say it’s because we create psychokinetic energy as a group. But if you look at successful spiritualist circles, they also have the same group of people meeting week in, week out and they claim the closer a group is, the more phenomena you will get.

Sceptics would say that eight series in, with no conclusive proof, you must be more inclined to fake results.
People have said we fake it from the first series. All I will say is, if you don’t believe us, come to see how we work.

The rest of the crew are becoming celebs in their own right. Have any acquired an ego?
Not yet. There’s a really lovely atmosphere. The team is great and most of them are moving from around the country to Manchester so we all live closer.

So why did Derek really leave?
Unbeknown to us, Ciaran O’Keeffe [the show’s resident sceptic] had suspicions about Derek and decided to plant some information to see if it would be repeated. He left a piece of paper around with the name ‘Kreed Kafer’ on it and said, within earshot of Derek, that he was a nasty South African jailor. When we started filming, Derek decided to get possessed by this fake person. The name is actually an anagram of Derek Faker. We tell people everything is real, then it turns out he was a fake, so he had to go.

Did you feel let down?
I was more angry than anything. I was upset that someone we considered to be close could do that. And then we had the possessions but we were getting three every show and, in every one, Derek would have the same voice. He’d also attack the crew members when he was supposedly possessed so it could have got dangerous for us.

Where does that leave the show’s credibility?
Where does it all stop? Are these mediums that do theatre shows all set up as well? You get little old ladies who pay £20 or £30 to see a theatre medium and you have to ask – are they being duped? Ciaran and I are trying to work out a system where mediums and ghost groups could be policed.

Last time we interviewed you, you said your make-up lady, Cath, had once been so scared, she wet herself. Has she learned to control her bodily functions?
No, she’s got worse. She’s not literally sh**ting herself but the more she experiences, the more scared she gets.

Most Haunted, Series 6, Volume 3, is out on DVD now.
You get little old ladies who pay £20 to see a theatre medium and you have to ask – are they being duped?

What do you think of the copycat programmes?
I’m not impressed with them, to be honest. So far, I’ve seen nothing on them that makes me think: ‘Oh, my God.’ They are making television programmes, though; we are not. We are more interested in investigating the paranormal. Ciaran and I have written a book together called Ghost Hunters – plug, plug, it’s on the shelves now. We are now writing a second book. We have taken it to the next step. I have genuinely become so passionate about this and finding some proof of paranormal existence, one way or another. When Karl [Yvette’s husband], Ciaran and myself meet, we spend all the time talking about our next experiment and how to go about it. People must think we are total nerds.

How do you recommend the public go about doing their own ghost hunts?
They should join a ghost club or group and make sure it is a reputable one that has some kind of history. What you should not do is just find the club closest to your house and go with them for sake of proximity. Just as there are an awful lot of fake mediums out there, there are also fake ghost clubs. Do a bit of research, find a good one and go with them. But do not just go on your own. You need to go with someone who knows what they are talking about.