Worzel Gummidge is a

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd."Worzel Gummidge (1979–81)"
''ScreenOnline.org.uk'' It was the first story book published by

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

. The books have been adapted for radio and television a number of times. Frank Atkinson was the first person to play the role in the 1953 BBC children's television series ''

Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective ''Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective'' is a British children's television series, first aired by the BBC in 1953. It was the first TV manifestation of Barbara Euphan Todd's character who had already appeared on radio and would reappear on televisio ...

''. Former ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' actor

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...

took the lead role from 1979 to 1981 in '' Worzel Gummidge'', produced by

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was co ...

for ITV in the UK. Pertwee reprised the role later in a New Zealand version (1987–1989). For the Pertwee series, the character had a set of interchangeable

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...

, mangelwurzel and swede heads, each of which suited a particular occasion or endowed him with a specific skill. In 2019 the character returned to the screen in the BBC series '' Worzel Gummidge'' starring

Mackenzie Crook Paul James "Mackenzie" Crook (born 29 September 1971) is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He played Gareth Keenan in ''The Office'', Ragetti in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, Orell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones ...

in the titular role.

Outline

Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow that can come to life on Scatterbrook Farm. Worzel stands in a ten-acre field. He befriended John and Susan who came to stay during the school holidays on the Braithwaites' farm. Worzel normally lands John and Susan in trouble when he is being mischievous, as he goes into a sulk and becomes a normal lifeless scarecrow. This leads others to blame the two children for the trouble he causes. The ''Worzel Gummidge'' books differ from the television adaption, one difference being that in the books Worzel is married to Earthy Mangold. In the first book, Aunt Sally (his

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype o ...

in the TV series) is only mentioned in one chapter and the character is an antagonistic bully to Worzel. For the television adaptation, Worzel has a collection of interchangeable heads. In the books, the maker of Worzel Gummidge and other scarecrows is not named the Crowman, but is described as a mysterious figure.

Books

* ''Worzel Gummidge'' (1936) * ''Worzel Gummidge Again'' (1937) * ''More About Worzel Gummidge'' (1938) * ''Worzel Gummidge And Saucy Nancy'' (1947) * ''Worzel Gummidge Takes A Holiday'' (1949) * ''Earthy Mangold And Worzel Gummidge'' (1954) * ''Worzel Gummidge And The Railway Scarecrows'' (1955) * ''Worzel Gummidge At The Circus'' (1956) * ''Worzel Gummidge And The Treasure Ship'' (1958) * ''Detective Worzel Gummidge'' (1963) The first paperback version of the first book, released in 1941, has the distinction of being the first story book published by the famous children's imprint

Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

Adaptations

''Children's Hour''

The first broadcast with Worzel was before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

on the BBC's

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childr ...

. By 1946, Worzel was played by veteran radio actor Philip Wade, John by John Clark, Susan by Rosamund Barnes, and Earthy Mangold by

Mabel Constanduros Mabel Constanduros (' Tilling; 29 March 1880 – 8 February 1957) was an English actress and screenwriter. She gained public notice playing Mrs.Buggins on the radio programme '' The Buggins Family'', which ran from 1928 to 1948. As well as writi ...

. Later, Worzel was played by Denis Folwell, who went on to play Jack Archer in the long-running BBC radio 4 soap opera ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural set ...

''.

''Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective''

The character first appeared on television in 1953 in a four-part series starring Frank Atkinson in the title role.

''Jackanory''

In July 1967 five ''Worzel Gummidge'' stories were read on ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fair ...

'' by Gordon Rollings. ''Worzel Gummidge Again'' was read in November 1974 (with one story tying in with

Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration list of minor secular observances#November, observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and firewor ...

) by

Geoffrey Bayldon Albert Geoffrey Bayldon (7 January 1924 – 10 May 2017) was an English actor. After playing roles in many stage productions, including the works of William Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series '' ...

, later to appear in the 1979-81 TV series.

1979-81 television series

's production for ITV was written by

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...

and

Willis Hall Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio, television and film writer who drew on his working-class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. Willis formed an extremely prolific partnership with h ...

, and starred

as Worzel, with Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally, a life-size fairground doll and Worzel's

."I Love 1979: Worzel Gummidge"
''BBC.co.uk'' This was a significant change from the original books, where Aunt Sally is, in fact, Worzel's aunt. The Crowman, who made Worzel and some of his other scarecrow friends, was played by

(who read ''Worzel Gummidge Again'' in November 1974 on BBC1's ''

''), better known for his starring role as the title character of ''

Catweazle ''Catweazle'' is a British children's fantasy television series, starring Geoffrey Bayldon in the title role, and created by Richard Carpenter for London Weekend Television. The first series, produced and directed in 1969 by Quentin Lawren ...

''.

Bill Maynard Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018), better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in '' G ...

also appeared as a scarecrow called Sergeant Beetroot.

''Worzel Gummidge Down Under''

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solo ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

collaborated on a follow-up programme that ran for two series in 1987 and 1989, with Worzel Gummidge and Aunt Sally, still played by Pertwee and Stubbs, relocated to New Zealand.

''Worzel Gummidge'' (2019 adaptation)

''Worzel Gummidge'' is a 2019 British TV fantasy miniseries, and an adaptation of the ''Worzel Gummidge'' series by Barbara Euphan Todd. It stars

, who also wrote and directed the series, as the magical scarecrow. It was produced by Leopard Pictures (part of the Argonon Group) and was broadcast by BBC One on 26 and 27 December 2019. A further four episodes followed in 2020 and 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gummidge, Worzel Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge British novels adapted into television shows Fictional anthropomorphic characters Fictional scarecrows Literary characters introduced in 1936 Male characters in literature Worzel Gummidge