Detectorist star adapting the classic stories for the BBC

Here's the first image of  Mackenzie Crook as scarecrow Worzel Gummidge in a new BBC series based on the children’s books.

The Detectorists star will be following in the footsteps of Jon Pertwee in a new two-part adaptation of Barbara Euphan Todd’s work, set in modern times.

Crook also wrote and directed the episodes, which are expected to air around Chirstmas.

In the first, The Scarecrow of Scatterbrook, s two young strangers arrive in the village of Scatterbrook and stumble across the Scarecrow of Five Acre Field – who comes to life.

The second episode, The Green Man, revolves around the creator of scarecrows and keeper of scarecrow lore arriving in Scatterbrook and isn’t at all happy that Worzel is consorting with humans. Elsewhere, local aristocrat Lady Bloomsbury Barton is holding a fete, with a Scarecrow competition that Worzel is determined to win. 

Pertwee played Gummidge – who could famously swap between various heads to suit the occasion – on  ITV from 1979 to 1981, with a Channel 4 revival, the New Zealand-based Worzel Gummidge Down Under, in 1987.

Chortle first revealed that Crook was working on the show back in April last year.

Published: 6 Jun 2019