Worzel Gummidge is a British children's television series, produced by Southern Television for ITV, and based on the Worzel Gummidge books by English author Barbara Euphan Todd."Worzel Gummidge (1979–81)" ScreenOnline.org.uk The programme starred Jon Pertwee as the titular scarecrow and Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally. It ran for four series in the UK from 1979 to 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 1978, 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 the object of Worzel's affection."I Love 1979: Worzel Gummidge" BBC 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 is better known for playing the title role in the show 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, John Le Mesurier, Jimmy Jewel, Lorraine Chase, Bernard Cribbins, Connie Booth, Thorley Walters, Jonathan Cecil, David Lodge, Mike Reid and Beryl Reid.
According to Jon Pertwee's memoirs, the idea for the series began 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 that project was unable to secure the funds it needed for 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 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 series with 30 episodes and an 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. Unsuccessful attempts were made to continue the series: one for it to be produced independently by Southern for the BBC,Daily Express, 6 May 1981, page 10 and another for it to be produced in Ireland,Daily Express, 6 August 1982, page 3 HTV continued with their plans to produce the show in Ireland,"HTV to do Worzel", The Stage and Television Today, 14 July 1983, page 13 but they fell through because of trade union problems,"Worzel's off till next year", The Stage and Television Today, 8 September 1983, page 13 as did attempts by the same company to make further episodes in England. However, the scripts that Waterhouse and Hall had written for the Irish episodes were published in book form. In 1981, Pertwee and Stubbs starred in the musical Worzel Gummidge at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, which also starred Lucy Benjamin (then Lucy Jane Baker) 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; it reached number 33 in the UK charts."Television Heaven: Worzel Gummidge" TelevisionHeaven.co.uk
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, along with Television New Zealand, commissioned Worzel Gummidge Down Under in 1986, which was shot on location in New Zealand. It ran for two series totalling 22 episodes. Only Pertwee and Stubbs remained from the original cast, with Bruce Phillips joining the cast as the Crowman, after Geoffrey Bayldon declined to reprise the role. Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler, daughter of prominent Māori author Witi Ihimaera, joined 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 after 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 (in one episode, she promises to marry him if he frees her from a junkshop washing machine, but she never has any intention of going through with it). The Crowman says there are good and bad Aunt Sallys (S04E05). The one Worzel likes has delusions of grandeur and is usually dismissive and patronising towards 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.
Worzelese Worzel and the other scarecrows sometimes spoke in their own "language", which was simply English spelled out letter-by-letter with "wor" appended to each. Words with three letters or less had "dip" appended, while longer words ended with "zel". Children who spoke Worzelese as a language game therefore gained practice with their spelling. However, Worzelese is far harder to speak than other play languages like Pig Latin and never really caught on.
British cast Character Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Series 4 Worzel Gummidge Jon Pertwee Aunt Sally Una Stubbs The Crowman Geoffrey Bayldon John Jeremy Austin Sue Charlotte Coleman Mr. Peters Sgt. Beetroot Bill Maynard Saucy Nancy Barbara Windsor Dolly Clothes-Peg Lorraine Chase Pickles Bramble Wayne Norman Mr. Braithwaite Norman Bird Mr. Shepherd Michael Ripper Mrs. Braithwaite Megs Jenkins Dafthead Frank Marlborough Mrs. Bloomsbury-Barton Joan Sims Colonel Bloodstock Thorley Walters Cobber Gummidge Alex Scott Enid Simmons PC Parsons Norman Mitchell Jolly Jack Bernard Cribbins Aunt Sally II
Episode list
Series 1 "Worzel's Washing Day" (25 February 1979) 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. "A Home Fit for Scarecrows" (4 March 1979) 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. "Aunt Sally" (11 March 1979) 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. "The Crowman" (18 March 1979) 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. "A Little Learning" (25 March 1979) 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. "Worzel Pays a Visit" (1 April 1979) 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. "The Scarecrow Hop" (8 April 1979) 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 "Worzel and the Saucy Nancy" (6 January 1980) Worzel stows away on the coach taking a group of pensioners to the seaside. Once there, he meets Saucy Nancy, a gregarious ship's figurehead who wants to marry him. But the scarecrow also rescues his beloved Aunt Sally from a fairground and the three form a very unusual romantic triangle leading to disaster. "Worzel's Nephew" (13 January 1980) With the Peters family away on holiday and Mike laid up with a sore ankle, Mr. Braithwaite hires a new farmhand: a Cockney lad who speaks in rhyming slang. The boy turns out to be Worzel's delinquent nephew Pickles Bramble who bullies his poor old uncle into doing all the dirty work on the farm for him. "A Fishy Tale" (20 January 1980) When Worzel learns about fishing, he dusts off his "wangling" head and tries his luck catching the goldfish in Mrs. Bloomsbury-Barton's pond. Trouble comes when the maid mistakes him for the handyman come to fix the dishwasher. "The Trial of Worzel Gummidge" (27 January 1980) After his latest foolish antic, Worzel is taken away by the Crowman and put on trial for failure to do his duty as a scarecrow as well as all his other mischief. The jury consists of all the local scarecrows but what's worse for Worzel is that the prosecutor is Aunt Sally! "Very Good, Worzel" (3 February 1980) Worzel and Aunt Sally go looking for employment, he to get married, she to save up for a trip to "Hegypt." By a mix-up the agency sends them as butler and maid to the home of Lady Bloomsbury-Barton, who is having a fancy luncheon to impress her friend Lady Partington. The expected disaster ensues. "Worzel in the Limelight" (10 February 1980) Worzel and Aunt Sally decide to enter the local talent contest but their failed attempts at a ventriloquist act make any cooperation impossible. They enter separately, she dancing to "Swan Lake" and he with a magic act; their efforts to sabotage one another make them the hit of the show. "Fire Drill" (17 February 1980) The village is planning a big bonfire celebration and Mr. Braithwaite offers his old scarecrow to be burned - Worzel Gummidge. John and Sue help Worzel build another scarecrow to be burned in his place but the new one has strong objections to that plan. "The Scarecrow Wedding" (24 February 1980) When she gets stuck in a washing machine at a junk shop, Aunt Sally promises to marry Worzel if he will rescue her. The deed done, he holds her to the promise and the Crowman reluctantly plans a traditional scarecrow wedding for the engaged couple.
Series 3