Worzel Gummidge (TV series)
| Worzel Gummidge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by |
Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall based on characters created by Barbara Euphan Todd |
| Starring |
Jon Pertwee Una Stubbs Connie Booth Geoffrey Bayldon Barbara Windsor Bill Maynard Lorraine Chase |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom (1979–81) New Zealand (1987–89) |
| No. of episodes | 31 (UK); 22 (New Zealand) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network |
Southern Television for ITV (1979–81) Toti Productions for Channel 4 (1987) Creative Arts for Channel 4 (1989) |
| Original release | 25 February 1979 – 12 December 1981 (UK version); then revived from 4 October 1987 – 16 April 1989 (New Zealand version) |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Worzel Gummidge Down Under |
Worzel Gummidge is a children's sitcom, produced by Southern Television for ITV, based on the Worzel Gummidge books by English author Barbara Euphan Todd. Starting 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 which aired 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.
In 1979 a television adaptation of Worzel Gummidge was produced by Southern Television for ITV, 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 is a significant change from the original books, where Aunt Sally is indeed 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 better known for his starring role as the title character of Catweazle.
Occasional guest appearances were made by big TV stars of the time and appeal to a family audience – Barbara Windsor as Saucy Nancy, a ship's figurehead, Billy Connolly as a Scottish piper scarecrow, Bill Maynard as Sergeant Beetroot, Joan Sims as Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton, the local aristocrat, Lorraine Chase as Dolly Clothes-peg, a shop window mannequin, Bernard Cribbins as Jolly Jack, a ship's figurehead, David Lodge, Mike Reid and Connie Booth as Aunt Sally II, a kind hearted Aunt Sally, who falls in love with Worzel.
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