
Worzel Gummidge (1979)
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Mike Berry as Mr. Peters
Episodes 22
Worzel's Washing Day
As John, Sue and Mr. Peters are all driving to their new home, a Romany Caravan at Scatterbrook Farm, John sees a Scarecrow (Worzel) in a field and claims to see it move. Later ,John persuades his sister to go back to the field, Ten-Acre field, to have a closer look at the Scarecrow, but once there it starts raining. With no other option other than to get soaked, John asks the Scarecrow if they can lend his umbrella, to which the Scarecrow replies with a deep, "OO - AARR!" sending the terrified children running for home. Later that evening Worzel turns up at Scatterbrook to claim back his umbrella and anything else he can find.
Read MoreA Home Fit for Scarecrows
During a torrential downpour Worzel leaves his post and heads for the cosy warmth of John and Sue’s Romany Caravan at Scatterbrook. Unfortunately, John won’t let him in, even though Worzel promises to teach them Worzelese, the Scarecrow language. Instead, Worzel shelters in the old barn where he keeps his heads. After a few minutes John and Sue join him and as he has no furniture, promise him an old chair that Mrs. Braithwaite is throwing out. The next day the village wakes up to a crime wave - Worzel has been up since cock’s crow stealing furniture and has set up home in one of the back fields.
Read MoreAunt Sally
There is a village fete on and one attraction that Worzel can’t miss - an Aunt Sally. However, before he can go he must solve a problem: who will take his place in Ten-Acre field whilst he goes to the fete? As luck would have it Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton, the local ‘Lady of the Manor’ happens to be passing and Worzel decides to ask her if she’ll swap with him for the afternoon. However, she thinks Worzel is about to attack her and so runs off screaming, leaving her hat behind. In the end Worzel turns up at the fete wearing not only Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton’s hat, but also Mr. Peters’ brown suit, which he had stolen earlier. Unfortunately, Worzel is spotted by Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton and is chased around the fete until John and Sue gesture him to hide in a tent to evade his pursuers. Once inside the tent Worzel discovers he has company, Aunt Sally.
Read MoreThe Crowman
Worzel wants a wife and so he asks The Crowman to make him a ‘handsome head’, spotting an opportunity for Worzel to learn a lesson the Crowman agrees. He tells Worzel that in return for one of his own heads he can have the loan of a head which he has made for a ‘decorative scarecrow’ ordered by Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton. The next day Worzel turns up at Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton’s Hall to pick up his new handsome head from the Crowman, who is working there. However, he is not the only one working there that day. Mr. Peters is also there, re-wiring the hall, and chaos quickly ensues when Worzel is asked to help him.
Read MoreA Little Learning
After losing his arm yet again Worzel is sick of people like John Peters calling him stupid, so he sets about the arduous task of locating his ‘clever head’. After searching high and low Worzel finally remembers where he’s hidden it - in the chimney of the local school that John and Sue go to. Worzel gets on the school roof and puts on his clever head. However, getting down is not so easy and he soon begins to draw attention to himself by making a racket. Miss Jamieson, the school teacher is so bothered by this noise that she goes out to investigate. When she sees Worzel she asks him what he’s doing on the roof and Worzel, feeling cocky in his clever head, demands a ‘satisfactory question’. The school teacher fires difficult questions at him, and to her amazement he gets them all right. She decides to tell Mr. Foster, the headmaster, that she has discovered a ‘genius’ on the school roof.
Read MoreWorzel Pays a Visit
As usual Worzel is up and about the village bright and early, and on his rounds stops to steal a pint of milk for his robin redbreast. Later on, as Sue is reading Worzel a newspaper article about Aunt Sally being stolen at the village fete, Mr. Braithwaite bursts in the barn and sends John and Sue to Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton’s with a box of apples. Whilst there, the two see that Aunt Sally is present, working as a maid. On their return to Scatterbrook, Sue rushes to Ten - Acre field to tell Worzel where Aunt Sally is and as soon as he can, he goes to the hall to see her.
Read MoreThe Scarecrow Hop
Mrs. Bloomsbury - Barton sacks Aunt Sally, and as she is homeless she turns up at Worzel’s barn. As soon as she arrives she starts telling him, Sue and John about where she is going to go next, and this prompts John into saying how boring the village is. Sue protests and brings up the fact that there is a village dance on that evening and Aunt Sally and Worzel decide to go. They both agree that they need outfits to wear and visit the local museum to pinch some. At the dance, Worzel finds the music boring and requests the band play ‘The Scarecrow Hop’ which is a roaring success.
Read MoreWorzel & the Saucy Nancy
Worzel stows away on the village coach outing to the seaside, where he meets the Saucy Nancy. She tells him that she saw Aunt Sally floating in the sea, but unknown to them she has been rescued by a fairground operator...
Read MoreWorzel's Nephew
Worzel receives an unexpected visit from his cockney nephew, Pickles Bramble. The youngster gets a job on the Braithwaite's farm and blackmails him into doing all the work. He has to come up with a scheme to rid himself of the troublesome relative...
Read MoreA Fishy Tale
While trying his hand at "wangling" in Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton's fishpond, Worzel is mistaken for an odd job man ...
Read MoreWorzel in the Limelight
Worzel and Aunt Sally enter the talent contest at the village hall. Their plan to perform as a double act soon turns sour...
Read MoreFire Drill
When Mrs. Bloomsbury-Barton holds a bonfire party, her choice of Guy to burn on it causes Worzel some alarm...
Read MoreThe Scarecrow Wedding
Worzel rescues Aunt Sally from inside a dishwasher at a junkshop and in return she promises to marry him...
Read MoreMoving On
The Braithwaites and the Peters have been on holiday in Tenerife and return home to a very unpleasant and unwelcome surprise. While they’ve been away Worzel and Aunt Sally have moved into their farmhouse, eaten all their food and completely wrecked the place! Mr Braithwaite finds what he believes to be just his old scarecrow and an old doll, Aunt Sally, and so puts the damage down to vandals. As they clear up the mess a newcomer, Mrs Cousins, comes along and takes away Aunt Sally for her daughter, Emma, and of course Worzel follows. When the coast is clear Worzel drags Aunt Sally away but their reunion is short-lived. The fair is passing through the village and Aunt Sally jumps on their wagon and joins them. Worzel, not to be beaten, grabs the Crowman’s trike and follows her as the disapproving Crowman follows on foot.
Read MoreA Fair Old Pullover
Worzel is skulking around the farmyard with a purpose in mind. Firstly he steals Mr. Braithwaite’s flat cap, then Mrs Braithwaite’s scarf and finally Harry’s welding goggles. It turns out that he’s putting together a driving outfit, but this drive is no ordinary drive. Worzel has decided that he’s going with the Braithwaites on their weekly shopping trip to Little Minster, but he isn’t travelling with them in the car - he’s travelling ON the car! Along the way he causes havoc, people fall into ditches or off their bicycles, but it’s in Little Minster itself that he draws the most attention. Luckily however the Crowman is there to get him out of trouble.
Read MoreWorzel the Brave
Mrs Bloomsbury - Barton has sold her hall to a Colonel Bloodstock who is bringing all his belongings into the village via rail. On the same journey is Aunt Sally as a package for Mr. Shepherd. Unfortunately, she gets taken up to the hall with the Colonel’s furniture, and when she arrives manages to convince him that she is a maid that comes along with the hall. She does not, however, reach there unobserved. From a field Worzel sees everything and decides to visit her. When he arrives he gets a less than warm reception - in fact he is thrown by her and finally seen off the premises courtesy of Colonel Bloodstock and his shotgun! Worzel realizes the only way he can rescue Aunt Sally is to go and see the Crowman and ask him for a ‘brave head’.
Read MoreWorzel's Wager
29 November 1980
Worzel has a dead cert racing tip courtesy of his Robin, is desperate for five pounds and decides to place a bet. Unfortunately though, before he has a chance he’s thrown out of the betting shop when it emerges he has no money. Meanwhile, the rest of the village is gearing up for the annual dog race. Worzel is still no nearer to figuring out a way to make his five pounds so he decides to take a nap in a field, and as if things weren’t bad enough he gets caught up in a combined harvester. As usual though the Crowman is on hand to put him back together. Once repaired he gives Worzel a task - to look after his dog, Ratter, for him whilst he goes to fix another scarecrow, Scratty Swedehead. As soon as the Crowman leaves Worzel has an idea - to enter Ratter in the local dog race.
Read MoreChoir Practice
It’s harvest festival time and Worzel is on loan to the vicar in order to keep the starlings out of the Church rafters. He isn’t the only newcomer at the church - the vicar also has an orphan called Samantha staying with him. Worzel is posted in the graveyard, but as night falls he becomes scared of the ghosts. Meanwhile, the Church choir are practicing for the harvest festival service but as the orphan Samantha draws attention to herself in a pure white smock, John and Sue realize who she really is - Aunt Sally! Once the choir is in full swing she slips away in order to get back to the vicarage first so that she can eat all the supper that Mrs Braithwaite has prepared. She must first however cross the graveyard, and as soon as Worzel catches sight of her in white he is off, heading for the vicarage. He gets there first and when Aunt Sally comes along he realizes there was no ghost, but if you’re in the choir there’s plenty of tea and cake!
Read MoreA Cup o' Tea an' a Slice o' Cake (1)
Double-length musical holiday special: it's Christmas Eve, a most important day for scarecrows as they must stand in position to guide Santa Claus back to the North Pole. Worzel Gummidge, however, deserts his post to enjoy the delights of the season, jeopardizing his chances for attending the Scarecrow Ball.
Read MoreA Cup o' Tea an' a Slice o' Cake (2)
It’s Christmas Eve and Worzel’s feeling the cold. However any hopes he has of a Christmas holiday are dashed when the Crowman, canny to Worzel’s ways, ties him to his post in Ten-Acre field and points him North as he does with all Scarecrows. This is because Santa Claus uses the Scarecrows as landmarks to guide him back home after he has delivered all the gifts. As an extra security measure he also threatens to ban Worzel from the Scarecrow ball the following evening if he leaves his post. However all this is in vain as five minutes later John and Sue turn up and untie Worzel who immediately heads for Farmer Braithwaite’s barn to dig out his party-going head. He finds it and heads up to the hall to find Aunt Sally who he intends to take to the Scarecrow ball. Unfortunately Worzel soon discovers that it is months since she left the hall and so all he succeeds in doing is getting shot at by Col. Bloodstock Unabashed by this Worzel continues his search and meets up with the Saucy Nancy who is living on a Pantomime Showboat on wheels! The reunion however is short lived when he is set upon by the boat’s owner and PC Parsons. Of course Worzel escapes and then, as luck would have it, he runs into Aunt Sally who has fallen on hard times and is selling bundles of kindling wood from a hand cart at 50 pence a bundle. As usual Worzel takes over her duties from her but, will they reach the Scarecrow ball and, more importantly, will the Crowman let them in?
Read MoreThe Return of Dolly Clothes-Peg
A letter is delivered to Scatterbrook but no one, save for John and Sue, recognise the name of the person it is addressed to - Worzel Gummidge. When they find him they discover the Crowman is fixing him up and therefore reads the letter for him. It is from ‘Dolly Clothes-Peg’ writing that she is coming to see Worzel on the ‘eleventy-twelve’ bus and that she is bringing a big cake for him. Unfortunately she spends all her money, including her bus fare, on the cake and so she has to walk to Scatterbrook. When she doesn’t arrive on the bus Worzel thinks she is not coming and becomes upset, but worse is yet to come...
Read MoreThe Jumbly Sale
It’s the day of the village jumble sale and Worzel has decided that he’s going along to get himself a new outfit so that he can impress Aunt Sally into marrying him. Meanwhile Mr. Shepherd has decided to make a contribution of his own to the sale - Aunt Sally. When Worzel arrives he finds Aunt Sally in a box outside and decides to rescue her. Unfortunately, as he’s trying to free her he pulls off one of her legs and before he can put things right, is chased away by PC Parsons. Worzel is distraught by the event and decides to end it all. He goes to see the crowman to ask him to dig him into the compost heap.
Read MoreThe Golden Hind
The Golden Hind, a new fish and chips shop has opened in the village. As usual Worzel is wandering about the village and is attracted by the smell. He is just about to enter the establishment when he meets the shop’s mascot, a ship’s figurehead called ‘Jolly Jack’. He explains what fish and chips are and reveals that he is a friend of Saucy Nancy. Once the coast is clear Jack takes Worzel inside the shop and they help themselves to as much food as they can carry. A little later Worzel bumps into Aunt Sally who, smelling the chips, decides she wants some. He stubbornly refuses to comply with her wishes and she goes off to find her own, ending up working at the Golden Hind and meeting Jolly Jack - will she find love ?
Read MoreWorzel's Birthday
Ten Acre field is covered in flowers of all colours and sizes for Worzel’s 'bestest birthday'. This comes as no surprise to John and Sue who, over the previous weeks, have had to endure his many hints. They plan a surprise party and have also scraped all their savings together to buy him a gigantic birthday cake... but will it survive the attention of Aunt Sally ?
Read More