Mackenzie Crook
- 52 years old
- English
- Actor, writer, director and executive producer
Press clippings Page 4
Worzel Gummidge to return for new special, Saucy Nancy
The BBC has confirmed that the new version of Worzel Gummidge written by and starring Mackenzie Crook will return for a new special titled Saucy Nancy.
British Comedy Guide, 8th September 2020Mackenzie Crook to return as Worzel Gummidge
Mackenzie Crook is to return to BBC One as walking, talking scarecrow Worzel Gummidge.
British Comedy Guide, 11th June 2020There's a new Worzel Gummidge in town. Mackenzie Crook wrote, directed and starred in this festive two-parter, reviving the scarecrow of Scatterbrook Farm. Prosthetics resulted in a macabre reimagining of Worzel, with a beard like white worms, sprouting roots for fingers, and eerie blankness when his military coat flapped open. (My first thought was: "Did I once meet you at Glastonbury?")
Crook's Gummidge was also environmentally aware, with Michael Palin appearing as his creator, the Green Man. Gummidge's foster "chillen" friends, Susan (India Brown) and John (Thierry Wickens), staying with Mr and Mrs Braithwaite (Steve Pemberton and Rosie Cavaliero), lent a wry modern feel (when John's phone is lost, Susan says: "We'll survive, it will be like the olden days, like the 90s or something"). Elsewhere, there was joyous daftness to be had from a biker gang of scarecrows (who just ran around holding handlebars in mid-air), and the best of Gummidge's scornful scarecrow put-downs. "He couldn't scare a meadow pipit!"
Barbara Ellen, The Guardian, 29th December 2019Worzel Gummidge - BBC One review
One thing that has definitely improved has been the jokes.
Shouting At The Telly, 28th December 2019By hook or by Crook, Worzel Gummidge is a TV wonder
What greater horror could befall a 21st century child than to be without wi-fi or a phone charger? 'It'll be like the olden days,' gasped Susan to her brother John, cut adrift from technology in Worzel Gummidge (BBC1) - 'like the Nineties or something'. The olden days were director Mackenzie Crook's inspiration as he brought this quick-tempered, slow-witted, muddle-headed scarecrow back to life.
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail, 27th December 2019Worzel Gummidge review
An eco-lecture from a 21st century scarecrow.
Carol Midgley, The Times, 27th December 2019Worzel Gummidge review
What happened to the creepy scarecrow from the 70s we knew and hated? He's been give the Mackenzie Crook treatment - and the result is a joyful, joke-filled eco-romp for our times.
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian, 26th December 2019Worzel Gummidge is a tender comic triumph
In his remake of the beloved series, Crook proves both that he is John Pertwee's natural successor and he understands children completely.
Sarah Carson, i Newspaper, 26th December 2019Worzel Gummidge, episode 1, review
A welcome return for the scarecrow with a real heart.
Anita Singh, The Telegraph, 26th December 2019TV review: Worzel Gummidge series 1 episode 1
It might not be packed with laughs or be the funniest thing you'll ever see but then it's not meant to be, it's just an extremely delightful piece of family comedy drama, and one of the best the BBC has made in ages.
Alex Finch, Comedy To Watch, 26th December 2019