Scarecrow tactics
Mackenzie Crook on resurrecting the famous straw man and why he deliberately avoided watching the original 80s character
To those of a certain age, Worzel Gummidge evokes nostalgic memories of Jon Pertwee dressed as a slightly sinister straw-haired scarecrow, who fancied a woman called Aunt Sally.
Now the classic family show, which aired on ITV from 1979-81, has been rebooted for a new generation of kids to enjoy in two special Christmas episodes.
Mackenzie Crook writes, directs and stars in the magical, star-studded adaptation, and he’s quick to doff Worzel’s scruffy hat in respect to the source material. Mackenzie said: “It was a groundbreaking show, very cinematic and brilliantly written. “But it wasn’t part of my childhood at all. I grew up in a strange, old-fashioned family who watched the BBC and frowned upon commercial TV. “Perhaps if I’d been fond of the original series I’d have been more wary of taking this project on. “I deliberately avoided watching the original series during the development process, as I wanted to be influenced by the books by Barbara Euphan Todd.” In the first film, foster children Susan (India Brown) and John (Thierry Wickens) are sent to live in the rural village of Scatterbrook with farmers Mr (Steve Pemberton) and Mrs (Rosie Cavaliero) Braithwaite.
Nearby in Ten Acre Field, the youngsters are astonished to encounter a scarecrow who comes to life and recruits them for an adventure to help bring in the harvest.
Mackenzie said: “Worzel is a guardian of the seasons and keeps an eye on the natural world.
“If there’s an imbalance, he notices and tries to fix it.
“In the most basic sense, I’ve turned this version of Worzel Gummidge into a climate change fable. It seemed like a good opportunity to push environmental issues forward, so kids realise that they’ve got to act about these things now.
“But that message isn’t delivered in a preachy way. It’s a magical tale and hopefully really funny. Worzel is childlike and very appealing.”
The second instalment sees Worzel take part in a scarecrow contest at a village fete organised by local aristocrat Lady Bloomsbury Barton (Zoe Wanamaker), with legend Sir Michael Palin appearing as The Green Man and Vicki Pepperdine taking over Una Stubbs’ iconic role as Aunt Sally.
Filming took place during summer in Hertfordshire, and Mackenzie spent a significant length of time in the make-up chair to achieve Worzel’s look.
He said: “It was gruelling to spend four hours a day with the prosthetics team. Sometimes I forgot I had the make-up on and got scared when I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. It must have been surreal for my cast-mates to be directed by this strange-looking creature behind the camera.”