Worzel Gummidge gets ‘woke’! Talking scarecrow will be even greener in new series with an organic turnip head, an electric tractor and an eco-campaign to stop HS2
- Worzel Gummidge will be made of organic, pesticide-free straw in BBC adaption
- Actor and author Mackenzie Crook, 47, has ditched Worzel’s baths to save water
- During the show talking scarecrow will stop a plan to run HS2 through his land
- Michael Palin, Zoe Wanamaker and Vicki Pepperdine are also joining new cast
Children’s TV favourite Worzel Gummidge will be even greener in a new series, which features an electric tractor and eco-campaign to stop HS2.
The talking scarecrow is set for a comeback on BBC later this year and the script is filled with some ‘very woke twists’ to help address environmental problems.
Actor Mackenzie Crook, 47, who wrote the two episodes and will also star in the show, has even ditched Worzel’s twice-yearly baths to save water, reports the Sun.
Worzel Gummidge, pictured is Mackenzie Crook in character, will be greener than ever in an upcoming BBC revival of the hit childrens’ show and have an electric tractor
The Office actor Mackenzie Crook, left, wanted the episodes to be a ‘non-preachy way of making youngsters more aware of what is going on’ with the environment. Pictured right is Jon Pertwee who originally played the talking scarecrow
A source said: ‘The script is warm and funny but also has some very woke twists.
‘Worzel will be made of organic, pesticide-free straw, and will ditch his twice-yearly baths to conserve water.
‘[Mackenzie] wanted the episodes to be a non-preachy way of making youngsters more aware of what is going on.’
Although there will only be two episodes back at Scatterbrook Farm, one of the main plots is thought to be Worzel stopping HS2 from running through his land.
Global warming is also discussed with character Green Man – played by Michael Palin – representing climate change.
The first 60 minute episode, The Scarecrow of Scatterbrook, sees two young strangers arrive in the village.
A new plot is said to be Worzel stopping HS2 from running through his land. Pictured are Geoffrey Bayldon, Jeremy Austin, Jon Pertwee and Charlotte Coleman in the original show
It’s not long before Susan and John encounter Worzel Gummidge, the Scarecrow of Ten Acre Field.
Their world is sent spinning when they realise Gummidge comes to life and magic, mystery and mayhem soon unfurl.
Also joining the cast is Zoe Wanamaker, who will play the eccentric aristocrat, Lady Bloomsbury Barton.
Vicki Pepperdine will revive Una Stubbs’ role of Aunt Sally in the show. Pictured are Stubbs and Jon Pertwee
Vicki Pepperdine will revive Una Stubbs role as Aunt Sally and said ‘you’d be hard pushed as an adult not to engage with’ the show, reports Chortle.
Worzel Gummidge became a cult classic following its launch in 1979, with 31 episodes spread across a two year run before it went off air in December 1981.
The show, starring Pertwee as Gummidge and Lorraine Chase as Dolly Clothes-Peg, enjoyed a brief revival in 1987 for the New Zealand based Worzel Gummidge Down Under.
Aired on Channel 4, the revival charted Gummidge’s adventures on the other side of the world after his beloved Aunt Sally – a walking, talking fairground doll – is sold to a museum owner.
Gummidge made his first TV appearance in BBC series Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective in 1953, with Frank Atkinson taking the titular role some 26-years before Pertwee launched him into public consciousness.
The modern adaptation is based on the classic books of Barbara Euphan Todd.
Mackenzie made a name for himself as Gareth Keenan in Ricky Gervais’ sitcom The Office before securing a recurring role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
He has also featured in Skins, Merlin and Game Of Thrones. His last TV appearance was in Amazon Prime’s historical drama Britannia, in which he played a druid.
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