Mackenzie Crook developing new version of Worzel Gummidge
- Mackenzie Crook is working on a new Worzel Gummidge sitcom
- If made, the BBC show would be a "contemporary adaptation" of the original books
- Barbara Euphan Todd created the character in 1936
Mackenzie Crook is developing a new adaptation of Worzel Gummidge, it has been revealed.
The scarecrow character was last seen on screen in the late 1980s, with the last of six hit series starring Jon Pertwee.
Reports in The Sun and The Daily Mail confirm that Crook, the actor, director and writer behind similarly rural comedy Detectorists, is working on a new TV sitcom starring the character.
An unnamed source told The Sun: "Mackenzie has been working on this for some time. He's written most of the script and pitched it to the BBC who were keen and are now officially on-board.
"It is not a continuation of the old story. Worzel is a legendary kids TV character and Mackenzie is keen to make sure the series does it justice."
Crook's version will be a "contemporary adaptation" of the original Worzel Gummidge books by Barbara Euphan Todd, who penned ten novels from 1936 to 1963.
Gummidge is a scarecrow on Scatterbrook Farm who is able to come to life. The original stories saw him befriend visiting schoolchildren, staying at a neighbouring farm during the school holidays, with whom he would get into various mischievous situations before turning back into an ordinary scarecrow, leaving them to take the blame.
After a successful radio adaptation, he was first seen on television in a four-part 1953 series, Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective starring Frank Atkinson. It was not until 1979 that Gummidge achieved large-scale television success, with the first of four series for ITV's Southern Television franchise (pictured), starring Jon Pertwee with Una Stubbs as love-interest Aunt Sally.
Running for four series over just two years, the hit childrens' comedy totalled some 31 episodes, and was revived by Channel 4 in 1987 for the first of two further series, Worzel Gummidge Down Under, co-produced with a New Zealand broadcaster. All six have been previously released on DVD.
The series were predominantly written by the team of Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, whose other credits include Billy Liar, That Was The Week That Was, The Frost Report, Queenie's Castle and The Dick Emery Show.
The Ultimate Worzel Gummidge Collection
A box set bringing together all four series of the popular children's television programme, plus both series of Worzel Gummidge Down Under, and the Christmas special.
Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow, made by the Crowman and able to convince other people he is human. He has a collection of different heads for different moods and lives with his Aunt Sally, a giant doll also able to pass as a real person. Only John and Susan, two children from the village, know their secret and help them get up to mischief.
In the follow-up series, Worzel and Aunt Sally move to New Zealand to start a new life and to have new adventures.
Starring John Pertwee and Una Stubbs.
First released: Monday 22nd November 2004
- Distributor: Delta Home Entertainment
- Discs: 9
- Minutes: 1,398
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