Worzel Gummidge (TV series)


Worzel Gummidge was a British children's sitcom, produced by Southern Television for ITV, based on the Worzel Gummidge books by English author Barbara Euphan Todd. Beginning in 1979, the programme starred Jon Pertwee in the title role and ran for four series in the UK until 1981. On a countdown of the greatest British children's programmes, this series was number 50 in the 50 Greatest Kids TV Shows on Channel 5 on 8 November 2013. Channel 4 reprised the show in 1987 as Worzel Gummidge Down Under, which was set in New Zealand.

Outline

In 1979, a television adaptation of Worzel Gummidge was produced by ITV station Southern Television for transmission on the ITV network. It was written by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, and starred former Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee as Worzel and Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally, a life-size fairground doll and Worzel's femme fatale. This was a significant change from the original books, where Aunt Sally is Worzel's aunt, and Worzel is married to Earthy Mangold, a character who does not appear in the series. The Crowman, who made Worzel and some of his other scarecrow friends, is played by Geoffrey Bayldon, who had played the title role in Catweazle. Regular and occasional guest appearances were made by well-known TV actors of the time, including Barbara Windsor, Billy Connolly, Bill Maynard, Joan Sims, Lorraine Chase, Bernard Cribbins, Connie Booth, David Lodge and Mike Reid.
According to Jon Pertwee's memoirs, the idea for the series started life as a proposed film about the Worzel Gummidge character by Waterhouse and Hall which would have been "about the scarecrow equivalent" of the Peasants' Revolt, with the scarecrows rising up against farmers who were going to burn them when the farming season had finished. Pertwee was approached to play the lead character by producer Gareth Wigan. When this project fell through due it being unable to secure the funds it need or a distribution deal, Pertwee encouraged the writers to create a television pilot instead and via his agent pitched the idea to Shaun Sutton, then Head of Drama at the BBC. Sutton turned down the project which he felt was "too way out" as did Philip Jones at Thames Television. Pertwee later recalled that at this point he "began to lose faith in the project", but Southern Television's Lewis Rudd heard about it and enthusiastically agreed that his company would make the series.
A total of four seasons with 30 episodes and one extended Christmas special, were made between 1979 and 1981. When Southern lost its contract to broadcast on ITV, the new contract-holder, TVS, did not renew the show, despite a press campaign led by the Daily Star. Attempts were made to continue the series, produced independently by Southern for the BBC and then to be produced in Ireland, but these failed. HTV continued with their plans to produce the show in Ireland but these plans fell through because of trade union problems, as did attempts by the same company to make further episodes in England, although the scripts that Waterhouse & Hall had written for the Irish episodes were published in book form. Pertwee and Stubbs starred in the musical Worzel Gummidge in 1981 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre which also starred Lucy Benjamin as Sue. Jon Pertwee's final TV appearance as Worzel was in 1995, to celebrate 40 years of ITV.
"Worzel's Song", sung by Jon Pertwee, was released in 1980, reaching number 33 in the UK charts.

Filming locations

The main locations for filming were the villages of Stockbridge, King's Somborne and Braishfield, along with Broughton for the fourth series, all of which are near Romsey in Hampshire. The Scatterbrook Farm scenes were filmed at Pucknall in Braishfield; Michelmersh was used for the scenes in the Scatterbrook barn. Worzel's scarecrow stand was filmed near Fishpond's Farm between Braishfield and King's Somborne at OS grid location SU378274.

New Zealand

The programme remained in limbo until Channel 4 commissioned Worzel Gummidge Down Under in 1986, which was shot on location in New Zealand; It ran for two series totaling 22 episodes. Only Pertwee and Stubbs remained from the original cast, with Bruce Phillips joining the cast as the Crowman and Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler, daughter of prominent Māori author Witi Ihimaera joining as one of the children. The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson received an early credit for his work providing special effects for the series.
Michael Grade, the newly appointed head of Channel 4, cancelled the series when the New Zealand version drew low audience figures.

Storyline

In the series, Worzel Gummidge was a scarecrow that could come to life. Living in Ten Acre Field, he would often visit the nearby village of Scatterbrook. He befriended two children, brother and sister John and Sue Peters, who often tried to clear up the messes he created. Worzel had a collection of interchangeable turnip, mangelwurzel, and swede heads; each suiting a particular occasion or allowing him to perform a certain task. He also had his own language, Worzelese. Worzel's catchphrases were: "A cup o' tea an' a slice o' cake", "I'll be bum-swizzled" and "Bozzy MCoo". He was madly in love with Aunt Sally, a vain, cruel-hearted fairground coconut-shy doll who considered herself a lady and far too good for a common scarecrow such as Worzel. Aunt Sally often exploits Worzel for her own ends. The Crowman says there are good and bad Aunt Sallys. The one Worzel likes has delusions of grandeur and is evil, in her constant nastiness to him.
The rationale for the move to New Zealand in Down Under was that Aunt Sally is purchased by a visiting museum curator from New Zealand, and Worzel follows her into the luggage chute.

UK cast

Episode list

Series 1

  1. "Worzel's Washing Day" The Peters family moves into a caravan on Scatterbrook Farm, and John and Sue Peters meet Worzel Gummidge, a scarecrow who can come to life.
  2. "A Home Fit for Scarecrows" John and Sue offer Worzel a proper chair for his home in the barn if he will teach them Worzelese; the scarecrow also gets the idea to steal a full set of furniture from the villagers.
  3. "Aunt Sally" Worzel takes the afternoon off to go to the village fête to see his intended, Aunt Sally, even though she considers herself to be too good for him. Aunt Sally takes advantage of his feelings for her and persuades him to exchange places with her so she can escape being sold to a museum.
  4. "The Crowman" Worzel begs his creator, the Crowman, to make him a handsome head so he can get a wife. After a disastrous visit to the home of Mrs. Bloomsbury-Barton, the scarecrow learns that it is more important to be handsome inside than out.
  5. "A Little Learning" Worzel turns the farm upside down looking for his Clever Head. When he finds it at the nearby school and puts it on, he encounters a teacher who takes him for a genius.
  6. "Worzel Pays a Visit" When Worzel is told that the runaway Aunt Sally is working as a housemaid at Mrs. Bloomsbury-Barton's home, he decides to pay her a call. But the mistress is away, and Sally pretends to be the lady of the house and invites Worzel in for tea, resulting in chaos.
  7. "The Scarecrow Hop" Aunt Sally is in a despondent mood after being sacked from her position as lady's maid to Mrs. Bloomsbury-Barton. To cheer her up, Worzel asks her to the charity ball.

    Series 2

  8. "Worzel and the Saucy Nancy"
  9. "Worzel's Nephew"
  10. "A Fishy Tale"
  11. "The Trial of Worzel Gummidge"
  12. "Very Good, Worzel"
  13. "Worzel in the Limelight"
  14. "Fire Drill"
  15. "The Scarecrow Wedding"

    Series 3

  16. "Moving On"
  17. "Dolly Clothes Peg"
  18. "A Fair Old Pullover"
  19. "Worzel the Brave"
  20. "Worzel's Wager"
  21. "The Return of Dafthead"
  22. "Captain Worzel"
  23. "Choir Practice"

    Christmas special

  24. "A Cup o' Tea and a Slice o' Cake" Unusually this double-length musical special did not have the Worzel Gummidge title sequence, "A Cup o' Tea and a Slice o' Cake" being its only on-screen title followed by "Starring Jon Pertwee" as per the standard titles.

    Series 4

  25. "Muvver's Day"
  26. "The Return of Dolly Clothes-Peg"
  27. "The Jumbly Sale"
  28. "Worzel in Revolt"
  29. "Will the Real Aunt Sally...?"
  30. "The Golden Hind"
  31. "Worzel's Birthday"

    New Zealand seasons

Series 5

  1. "As The Scarecrow Flies"
  2. "The Sleeping Beauty"
  3. "Full Employment"
  4. "Worzel's Handicap"
  5. "King of the Scarecrows"
  6. "Ten Heads Are Better Than One"
  7. "Worzel to the Rescue"
  8. "Slave Scarecrow"
  9. "The Traveller Unmasked"
  10. "A Friend in Need"

    Series 6

  11. "Stage Struck"
  12. "A Red Sky in T'Morning"
  13. "Them Thar Hills"
  14. "The Beauty Contest"
  15. "Bulbous Cauliflower"
  16. "Weevily Swede"
  17. "Elementary My Dear Worty"
  18. "Dreams of Avarish"
  19. "Runaway Train"
  20. "Aunt Sally, R.A."
  21. "Wattle Hearthbrush"
  22. "The Bestest Scarecrow"

    Stage musical

A stage musical adaptation, titled Worzel Gummidge - The Musical, was created by the TV series creators Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall with music by Denis King and featuring the original TV principal cast Jon Pertwee, Una Stubbs and Geoffrey Bayldon. The musical first premiered at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre for the 1980 Christmas season before receiving rave reviews and transferring to the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End from 22 December 1981 and extending to 27 February 1982. The Original London 1981 Cast Album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios; It featured 15 songs and 4 bonus tracks titled The Worzel Gummidge Christmas Maxi Single.

Legacy