"Daddy gonna fix the boiler now. YouTube gonna show Daddy how."
— Mike to himself and the Plague Ghosts, Gorilla War
Michael 'Mike' Cooper is the husband of Alison Cooper and joint owner of Button House, he is portrayed by actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Biography[]
Mike met Alison either towards the end or just after their school life finished and the pair quickly got together. They married shortly before the start of the series and were looking for a flat - aided by Dave - as they could not afford a house. Why they left their previous flat is unknown though we know that Mike had re-tiled the splash back.
When Alison learns she's inherited a house from Heather Button in Who Do You Think You Are? he goes with her to see the solicitor though claims he feels as though he'd entered the headmaster's office then tells a story of how he put a pussy willow into Daniel Bellingham's ear when they were kids. The boy tried to get it out though only shoved it further in and he was forced to go to A&E, it wasn't serious and he has since become a pastry chef. Mike babbles on about this story before Alison gets him to stop. Despite being reminded of his school days and eating the pot-pourri he is highly enthusiastic and is instantly on board with Alison's idea to keep the house and renovate it.
Upon their arrival at Button House he was just as excited as Alison and the pair rushed through the house to see different rooms, he suggested various themes which the ghosts weren't too keen on though they did like his idea for 'club tropicana' which Julian thinks is "fun". Mike soon realizes just how much work would need to go in to renovating it into a hotel, however he is not deterred since he believes his previous DIY has made him qualified to repair the house with the aid of YouTube;when in reality, he's clueless. In truth Mike had no idea what he was doing and even goes so far as to bang on 'old Betsy' the boiler with a hammer much to the chagrin of the Plague Ghosts. He does his very best to hook everything up even if it is sloppy and not exactly safe, though by Gorilla War has started to do more harm than good since he drills through the wall connecting Fanny's and Kitty's rooms leaving a gargantuan hole.
After Alison falls - as far as he knows - out the window and ends up in an induced coma he becomes determined to find the money to fix the house and make his wife's dream come true. This leads to Mike taking out loans of unknown quantities without reading the contracts properly, he's then forced to admit to Alison that if they tried to back out of it all they'd end up bankrupt.
When forced to accept the fact that Alison could see real ghosts in their house he becomes scared of them even though Alison insists they mean no harm. He takes to showering in his swimming trunks to avoid being spied on, a paranoid act until one learns that Mary does actually watch him. Throughout Happy Death Day it becomes increasingly obvious that he's bathroom shy, he even goes as far as to leave the house for the pub and on a gym trial day just so he can go to the bathroom without fear of being spied on; Alison calls this 'doing a Glastonbury'. At the end of the episode he strips off all his clothes and dances through the upper floors of the house shouting out that he isn't afraid of the ghosts and that they should 'get a good look', however, the ghosts never see this as they're downstairs and hardly even hear the shouting. Despite this display he's still nervous about the ghosts.
In Free Pass he becomes worried that Alison will go off him in favor of her 'free pass' Toby Nightingale, this causes him to try and make himself look better by going on long runs, which he never completes, and ultimately making himself look silly in front of Toby. Worried about the floor collapsing he moves one of the supports from another weak area which results in Toby falling through the floor and landing on top of him.
When Barclay Beg-Chetwynde and his wife, Bunny, come to dinner in Moonah Ston he finds himself wondering why they have gone to so much effort. Alison insists they get a pheasant which leads to them tossing a coin to see who has to hold the gun while the Captain instructs them on how to aim and fire, he's then forced to pluck the bird which has him gagging over the sink. Later, with the ghosts causing chaos due to the Moonah Ston Ritual Mike is forced to do damage control and keep the Beg-Chetwyndes occupied while Alison distracts the dead by putting on Friends, he shows them down to the cellar and talks about the sockets and electrics which none of them are remotely interested in. He's then set upon by Barclay who - having realized Mike isn't the smartest - talks about getting something concrete sorted for the access issue. Having mistakenly assumed Barclay meant twenty pounds for the rights he is shocked and panicked when he learns it's actually twenty thousand; Mike is further distressed by the fact they shook on it. When he explains what happened to Alison, she is irritated she's forced to think of a way out of it since they don't have that much money; in the end a comment from Julian gets them out of it. Mike continues to lose money to Barclay by insisting he can play poker, he loses a hundred pounds to him just in the time it takes his wife to get the port.
With the loan money gone Mike and Alison are forced to get jobs during the day and do the renovations at night, this is draining and he even falls asleep in the car on the way home only to be woken by Alison where he announces 'lager top, please'. Once he hears that Fiona Legge would like to buy the house he is all for it since he's had enough of the exhaustion and has realized they'd never be able to fix it all on their own. After Fiona runs away from the house upon discovery of the plague pit he is angry to find it was all the Captain's doing and goes so far as to try and punch the ghosts at the end of Getting Out.
Since he can't see the dead residents Mike builds himself his own board called 'Mike's Ghost Chart' to try and keep track of them all which he keeps in the pantry.[1] He has managed to find photographs of Fanny, Julian, Pat and a regimental picture of the Captain though has struggled with the others, from somewhere he's found a portrait of Kitty but the other ghosts just have crude, childish drawings. Mary's post-it note has 'toast' written underneath her name.
During The Thomas Thorne Affair he finds himself reluctant to go to Alison's school reunion as he's afraid of her ex-boyfriend as he has been told that Alison dumped him to be with Mike. Extensive Facebook stalking reveals that Kevin had been to prison, was very familiar with firearms and had become a boxer. He tries to discourage Alison from going but quickly changes his mind about the whole thing when he learns that Alison had lied to him to hide that he was a rebound boyfriend after Kevin had dumped her.
Mike is left alone at Button House with the ghosts for the first time in Bump In The Night, he claims that he'd be unable to sleep and even tries to talk the ghosts - who aren't there at the time- into leaving the bedroom for the night so he could watch television and eat his trifle in peace. Shortly after complaining that he's too scared and will never fall asleep, Mike still falls asleep with the trifle on his stomach without a hint of fear. He startles awake a few hours later after a series of things - started by Julian - fall over making a loud bang; they desperately try to communicate with him and even use Morse Code at one point to tell him of the burglars, but Julian's decision to use a creepy doll's eye only terrifies Mike more. He soon ends up hiding in the wardrobe and calls Alison to say the ghosts had "gone rogue" but she shushes him and instructs him to stick the phone outside the wardrobe so she could hear and talk to the ghosts. Though he doesn't hear a word, of it the Captain manages to inform her that there are burglars in the house and she then repeats it to her husband. More concerned with the burglars than the ghosts he clambers out the wardrobe and proceeds to ask a series of unanswerable questions until Pat comes up with the idea to use steam and write on the mirror. At one point, Mike asks the ghosts how many burglars are in the house however there is a slight miscommunication since Julian wanted to write "two of them" rather than just two. This leaves Mike thinking there are twenty people in the house and he runs in panic. Mike ends up scurrying around the house writing down the names of the burglars on his hand, he then decides to put the suit of armor on in an attempt to scare the intruders away, this works for a few seconds until he falls over. The burglars are soon caught and surrounded by Barclay Beg-Chetwynde and his dogs.
It is Mike who is sent to get the vicar, Rev. Gerald Hatch, due to the snow storm during Perfect Day. He's not discouraged when he finds that the vicar's leg is injured and instead uses a sled to get down the hill. The vicar in initially quite weary of this idea however finds it fun and wants to go twice. When Clare gets cold feet about marring Sam he overhears Alison talking about how she'd been through the same thing on their wedding day, he leaves before hearing the rest of what she has to say about why she couldn't live without him. Heart-broken he accidentally reveals to Sam what is going on and further messes things up. When Alison finds out she called him "insensitive" and he snaps 'well, I'm sorry I always disappoint you' only for her to head off to find Sam. Meanwhile, Clare asks Mike when the wedding will start and Mike tells her what he'd over heard but just says 'yes' when the wedding is specified. Soon after they speak again and Mike is forced to tell her about what he'd said to Sam, rather than being angry Clare tells him about what Alison really thought of him and how she'd not been able to imagine life without him, this revelation has both Mike and Clare rushing to find their other halves. After the wedding Mike plays DJ for the party, when he changes to a slower song he and Alison hug and dance softly together then kiss.
Appearance[]
Mike is a reasonably tall Black man with short dark hair and well-groomed facial hair. He's normally seen in t-shirts and jeans and often with a baseball cap or beanie.
Personality[]
For the most part Mike is a pretty relaxed, happy-go-lucky person who really wears his heart on his sleeve; though he does have a tendency to prattle on at times. He's cheerful, friendly and highly optimistic, especially about his DIY capabilities. Mike enjoys trying to make things easier for other people though this doesn't always go to plan for him. He can often be somewhat childish and loose his temper but is never cruel or mean. He's fairly honest and only tells white lies such as before he and Alison got married when he told her he was a black belt in Taekwondo.[2] He truly loves his wife and does all he can to reassure her and care for her after she falls from the window. Mike isn't particularly good at managing finances as he takes out a considerable amount of loans while his wife is in an induced coma. He does this after giving the contracts 'a lengthy skim' rather than reading them properly.[3]
Quotes[]
- "Daddy gonna drill a hole in the wall." — Gorilla War
- "Daddy gonna fix the boiler now.. YouTube gonna show daddy how."" — Gorilla War
- "Cornflakes were originally invented to stop people from touching themselves apparently." — Happy Death Day
- "That was my favorite toe!" — Redding Weddy
- "Why is everything so old?" — Bump In The Night
- "They're all dead and weird." — Bump In The Night
- "Right well, who's going to go out in this and get the vicar from the top of the- me, it's me innit." — Perfect Day
Trivia[]
- Initially the Captain found him attractive.
- It is possible that he believes 'Downton Abbey' to be a person rather than a programme.
- Alison dislikes his friend, Greg, though she never says why.
- Mike had an Uncle Graham who died of a stroke.
- He is scared of heights.[4]
- He always shakes someone's hand when they offer it to him as he feels awkward to just leave it hanging there.
- Mike's new job in Getting Out keeps sending him home with free gooseberries which clutter the kitchen up. He even gives some to Fiona Legge.
- He tries to bend the wedding silver in Bump In The Night.
- Only the ghosts refer to him as Michael.
- He doesn't know how to properly tie a tie, only how to do a school knot which leaves the tie very small.
- His American counterpart is Jay Arondekar.
Gallery[]
