as Worzel Gummidge in 1982 In 1978, a television adaptation of
Worzel Gummidge was produced by
ITV station
Southern Television for transmission on the ITV network. It was 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 the object of Worzel's affection. This was a significant change from the original books, where Aunt Sally is 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, who is better known for playing the title role in the show
Catweazle. Regular and occasional guest appearances were made by well-known TV actors of the time, including
Barbara Windsor,
Billy Connolly,
Bill Maynard,
Joan Sims,
John Le Mesurier,
Jimmy Jewel,
Lorraine Chase,
Bernard Cribbins,
Connie Booth,
Thorley Walters,
Jonathan Cecil,
David Lodge and
Mike Reid and
Beryl Reid. According to Jon Pertwee's memoirs, the idea for the series began as a proposed film about the Worzel Gummidge character by Waterhouse and Hall which would have been "about the scarecrow equivalent" of the
Peasants' Revolt, with the scarecrows rising up against farmers who were going to burn them when the farming season had finished. Pertwee was approached to play the lead character by producer
Gareth Wigan. When that project was unable to secure the funds it needed for a distribution deal, Pertwee encouraged the writers to create a
television pilot instead, and via his
agent pitched the idea to
Shaun Sutton, then Head of Drama at the
BBC. Sutton turned down the project, which he felt was "too way out", as did Philip Jones at
Thames Television. Pertwee later recalled that he "began to lose faith in the project", but Southern Television's Lewis Rudd heard about it and enthusiastically agreed that his company would make the series. and another for it to be produced in Ireland,
HTV continued with their plans to produce the show in Ireland, but they fell through because of trade union problems, as did attempts by the same company to make further episodes in England. However, the scripts that Waterhouse and Hall had written for the Irish episodes were published in book form. In 1981, Pertwee and Stubbs starred in the musical
Worzel Gummidge at the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, which also starred
Lucy Benjamin (then Lucy Jane Baker) as Sue. Jon Pertwee's final TV appearance as Worzel was in 1995, to celebrate 40 years of
ITV. "Worzel's Song", sung by Jon Pertwee, was released in 1980; it reached number 33 in the UK charts.
Filming locations The main locations for filming were the villages of
Stockbridge,
King's Somborne and
Braishfield, along with
Broughton for the fourth series, all of which are near
Romsey in
Hampshire. The Scatterbrook Farm scenes were filmed at Pucknall in Braishfield.
Michelmersh was used for the scenes in the Scatterbrook barn. Worzel's scarecrow stand was filmed near Fishpond's Farm, between Braishfield and King's Somborne at OS grid location SU378274.
New Zealand The programme remained in limbo until
Channel 4, along with
Television New Zealand, commissioned
Worzel Gummidge Down Under in 1986, which was shot on location in New Zealand. It ran for two series totalling 22 episodes. Only Pertwee and Stubbs remained from the original cast, with Bruce Phillips joining the cast as the Crowman, after Geoffrey Bayldon declined to reprise the role. Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler, daughter of prominent
Māori author
Witi Ihimaera, joined as one of the children.
The Lord of the Rings director,
Peter Jackson, received an early credit for his work providing special effects for the series.
Michael Grade, the newly appointed head of Channel 4, cancelled the series after the New Zealand version drew low audience figures. ==Storyline==