Ghosts' Danielle Pinnock Unpacks Alberta's Big Secret And (Gasp!) Real Name

Who's got a secret to spill, Alberta... if that's your real name!

In Thursday's "Ghosts," Thorfinn connects dots after the re-emerging Todd reveals a puzzling fact about the mansion's singing ghost: There's no record anywhere of Alberta Haynes before 1923. It gets the Viking ghost thinking, and when he confronts her, she spills one massive truth: Alberta Haynes isn't her real name! When Pete later confronts her about what she's hiding, even more secrets emerge: Her name is actually Esther Greene, and before becoming a jazz singer, she had a successful career in... ventriloquism! However, she eventually "murdered" her puppet Murray with a baseball bat, changed her name, and chased her dream of singing.

She's embarrassed and shameful of her secret, but when Sam and Jay desperately need help convincing Todd not to destroy their businesses, she comes clean. Revealing her long-hidden truths is enough to convince the Alberta-obsessed Todd to back off and help promote Sam's book and Jay's restaurant on his massively successful podcast.

So why was Alberta so ashamed of her past? Below, TVLine speaks to her portrayer Danielle Pinnock to break down Esther's Alberta's nutty past life, her "sibling rivalry" with Thorfinn, and her relationship with her newfound confidant, Pete.

TVLINE | Before we dive into this week's episode, I have to ask about Alberta's romance with Pete. What's it been like seeing that story develop and working more closely with Richie Moriarty? DANIELLE PINNOCK | It's incredible. If "Ghosts" existed in the '90s, I don't think that this character would be fully realized at all. And that is really a testament to [executive producers and showrunners] Joe Port and Joe Wiseman and our writers for how they see me as a plus-size Black woman. I feel like I have had more suitors on this show than I have had in my entire career, and that's including my 20+ years doing theater as well. It feels really good to not only play this braggadocious diva who I love, but it's also great to see her vulnerability, it's great to see her in romantic situations, and how she is as a friend. I know that when this show wraps, whether it's Season 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, I will have such a rich resume, and that is due to "Ghosts."

Being able to be Pete's love interest this season, it is a slow burn, but it's exciting. They're getting to learn more about each other, especially in Episode 8. You would think that they would know so much about each other already, and they're still learning these new things. It reminds me of my grandmother. My grandmother one day at Christmas was like, "Yeah guys, this is what happened to me in Boston," and she's 84. So I'm like, "Girl, we've been with you this whole time. You're just now sharing this deep news? What's happening?" But that's family and that's your friend group as well, and so I love the show. I'm grateful to be on it.

TVLINE | Tell me a little bit about Thor and Alberta's friendship, and why does it track that he's the one sniffing around Bertie's past?
Devan Long is my brother in real life. I love Devan so much, and this is our interactions in real life as well. We lovingly bully each other. I'm from Jersey and not a lot of people can kind of handle that thing, so I don't really bully a lot of friends, but Devan, we go tit for tat. I think the Joes and the writers, seeing how we rag on each other, they're like, "This could actually be really interesting for the characters as well." Out of all of the ghosts, he's the one that makes me break the most to the point where I have to go back into hair and makeup because I'm just weeping. He's actively always trying to make me laugh on set, and I love that they have this... it feels almost like sibling rivalry in some ways, but it really is just deep love for each other. They've been together for so long. I love that it is Thorfinn who finds out this news about Alberta first because it allows him to be so petty, in the best way possible.

TVLINE | We find out that Alberta used to have a popular ventriloquism act. What was your reaction to that when you first read the script?
I was like, 'What? This is nuts!' We've done these really beautiful flashbacks for her in these last four seasons and now for Season 5, I was like, 'Can I do a little something weird?' And this episode, [writer/producer] Emily Schmidt knocked it out of the park. When I got this script, I was like, 'Puppet?! What's happening?' And then that day we did the table read, I had a ventriloquist coach come in and I was working with two different puppets, a wooden puppet and a soft puppet, and that was a Thursday. That Tuesday is when we filmed it. But you can get a draft of a script on a Thursday and have to be an expert at that by Monday. For me as an actor, I always want my best foot forward and so working with a coach, I had a blast. I was like, "I need to be in the remake of Avenue Q when they do a live-action Avenue Q. I'm ready to go!" It was so much fun and to have that now in my actor's toolbox, it's amazing. I was nervous at first because I'm like, "Oh my gosh, how am I gonna learn how to throw my voice and do all these things in four days?" But I had a blast and it really did bring back a childlike wonder on how to work the puppet and give the puppet facial expressions and truly breathe life into it. Sadly, Murray is now deceased, but it's really due to her wanting to be reborn into this incredible jazz singer that she knew she was destined to be.

TVLINE | It's so sad when Alberta starts to sing and gets booed by the crowd.
Awful. And also for me, I was like, "This is the best singing day I've had on the show in five years!" I was vocally clear. I was not sick at all. Every time I've had to do a big song on "Ghosts," like the pilot, I had walking pneumonia during the pilot and had to sing. I was so ill, and having to strain and sing was the worst. I can't even watch it back. I felt so bad. This was the best vocal performance I've had and it was like, "Boooo!" And that's how you get humbled. [Laughs]

TVLINE | Why is Pete the one who can help Alberta feel better about her past?
Pete is literally a reincarnation of my husband. We're an odd couple for sure. My husband is a redhead from Coventry, England, and he is quite literally my peace. When I am stressed out, when I'm struggling, when I'm second-guessing, he is so quickly able to allow me to see the bright side of things or another perspective that I wasn't even thinking about. I think in the same way, that is who Pete is for Alberta. And that is why they do make a great couple because Alberta will give him that boldness that he so desperately needs, but also he allows her to tap into her vulnerability in a way that she may not feel comfortable doing with the other ghosts.

TVLINE | Why does Alberta decide to help Sam and Jay get out of their pickle with Todd?
It's releasing the shame. There's nothing to be embarrassed about our past. It just provides direction for our future, and so I think that's why it was so great for her to come clean. Her name may be Esther Green, that may be her government name, that may be the name on the birth certificate, but Alberta Haynes is the name that she chooses. It's who she wanted to be reborn into, and that's how she died. She died doing the thing that she loved. I love that for her. For anyone that is trying to do things a little differently, I hope this episode inspires them to do that.