The lowdown: 'Worzel Gummidge' was based on the series of children's books written by Barbara Euphan Todd, and 
starred Jon Pertwee as the scarecrow who comes to life and gets into all sorts of adventures with two young children,
John and Sue Peters. Other regular cast members included Geoffrey Bayldon as the Crowman (the maker of Worzel),
Una Stubbs as Worzel's girlfriend Aunt Sally (a life-sized wooden doll), and Jeremy Austin and Charlotte Coleman as 
John and Sue. The series was broadcast on ITV1 between 29 February 1979 and 31 July 1981, with a total of 30 episodes
made over four seasons. Another 22 episodes were filmed in New Zealand, and broadcast by ITV1 under the title 'Worzel
Gummidge Down Under', from 4 October 1987 to 16 April 1989. Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs were the only actors to 
appear in the show's brief revival.

'Worzel's Washing Day' was the first episode of the series, and saw the Peters family arrive at Scatterbrook Farm, with
the two young children meeting Worzel, who comes back to life after winter. Worzel has a robin nesting in his chest and 
boasts a number of interchangeable turnips for a head, with each one giving him a different ability, such as singing, dancing
and thinking. Most of the episodes feature Worzel getting up to mischief some kind, with John and Sue having to get him 
out of trouble without the adults of Scatterbrook village finding out about Worzel. The series is still fondly remembered for
its family-friendly storylines and the superb acting of Pertwee, in a role that allowed him to use his comic skills to the full. 
Despite the show's age, it is still highly enjoyable, especially for Gen-Xers who watched it in their youth. Would it work today?
Probably not, primarily because it would be hard to find an actor who could give justice to the role. Jon Pertwee was so good
that it would be hard to imagine anybody else stepping into his scarecrow shoes.

Trivia:Jon Pertwee himself suggested to production company Southern Television that they make the 'Worzel Gummidge' 
series, having read the books when he was young. And the rest, as they say, is history...

  Quotes:
Worzel: 'Good evening, young man.'
John: 'Good... good evening.'
Worzel: 'Sir. Good evening, sir. That's what you should say, me
  being older than you.'		   Video Clips:
Worzel comes to life  (4.2mb)
John meets Worzel  (4.0mb)
Worzel and a policeman  (4.1mb)

 
 
 
 
 

 
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