Every little thing he did was magic
We look at how Catweazle brought his unique charm to children’s television 50 years ago
AWACKY wizard with wild-looking hair and a talent for getting spells wrong made his television debut 50 years ago. Catweazle was made by London Weekend Television and began on February 15, 1970.
The quirky series quickly enchanted young viewers and saw the 11th century wizard landing in 1969 Britain. He was accidentally hurled forward through time after a flying spell to escape his enemies went wrong.
Geoffrey Bayldon, who played Q in David Niven’s James Bond comedy spoof Casino Royale in 1967, wore a wig to play the eccentric wizard.
Catweazle often referred to Rapkyn’s Book Of Spells and muttered incantations such as “Sator, Arepo, Tenet, Opera, Rotas!” The latter charm is one of the oldest magic squares known to man and was found in the ruins of Pompeii.
Catweazle himself was baffled by 1960s culture and regarded technology as “powerful magic”.
It made him desperate to return home to his own time... if he could just remember how to get the spell right.
He was befriended in the first series by a young red-headed boy called Edward Bennett, nicknamed Carrot, who was played by Robin Davies.
Those who appeared on the show also included Carry On star Hattie Jacques as Madam Rosa and future Last Of The Summer Wine star Peter Sallis as Stuffy Gladstone.
Catweazle was created by Richard Carpenter, who later went on to write Dick Turpin, Robin Of Sherwood and The Borrowers for television.
The 26 episodes were originally broadcast on ITV at 5.30pm on a
Sunday afternoon.
Each episode followed the wizard’s magical misadventures in the modern world and his attempts to help his young friend often backfired.
Catweazle made his home in a disused water tower he called Castle Saburac which he shared with pet toad and familiar Touchwood.
T Rex singer Marc Bolan and Beatles drummer Ringo Starr were both fans of the programme and they later invited Geoffrey to appear as a waiter in the 1972 T Rex movie Born To Boogie, directed by Ringo. The actor, who died three years ago at the age of 93, also returned to his Catweazle ways in 1986 when he was asked to add vocals to Paul Hardcastle’s Top Of The Pops theme tune The Wizard.