Worzel Gummidge

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.

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.

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.

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.

Worzel receives an unexpected visit from his cockney nephew, Pickles Bramble. The youngster gets a job on the Braithwaites farm and blackmails him into doing all the work. He has to come up with a scheme to rid himself of the troublesome relative...

Worzel is worried when a salesman tries to convince Mr. Braithwaite to replace him with an electric rook scarer...

Worzel and Aunt Sally enter the talent contest at the village hall. Their plan to perform as a double act soon turns sour...

Worzel rescues Aunt Sally from inside a dishwasher at a junkshop and in return she promises to marry him...

Worzel and Aunt Sally are both employed at the fair but Worzel, as usual, has a problem. She is walking out with ‘The Great Orlando’, the strongman. After being let down by her yet again he goes for a walk and meets up with ‘Dolly Clothes - Peg’, an ex shop window dummy who is currently employed as a makeshift scarecrow. She explains to him how the Crowman had brought her to life and they both decide to go for a cup of tea and a slice of cake at the local tea room. Unfortunately, Aunt Sally is already there and, to make matters worse, so is ‘The Great Orlando’.

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’.

Sue and John go up to Ten - Acre field to give Worzel a present - a bowl of Black Forest Gateaux mix. When they arrive they find a different scarecrow at Worzel’s post, Dafthead. It turns out that he has put a bucket on Worzel’s head, tied him up and then dumped him in his barn. Sue and John free Worzel and the trio head up to Ten - Acre to confront Dafthead. When they arrive he is still eating the cake mix so Worzel tries to outsmart him. Unfortunately, Dafthead is too clever so Worzel decides to go and see the Crowman to see if he has any ideas.

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!

After being driven out of the village baby contest Worzel decides he wants his mum. The only person who can help him is the Crowman who deduces that a scarecrow called Sarah Pigswill’ was made from a row of turnips which, twelve months later, seeded Worzel. Technically making her Worzel’s mother. The wheels are set in motion and Worzel prepares for the arrival of his mother on his ‘bestest birthday. Unfortunately, he soon realises that her idea of a birthday tea and his own are very different.

The Crowman has dispatched pigeons to round up Aunt Sally and Worzel. When they arrive at his abode they discover why. He has heard about a cake fight the pair have had at the bishop’s tea party. He explains to them that due to their recent absenteeism they are both in bad books with their owners. The Crowman has therefore decided that the safest place for them is to stay with him until the fuss has died down. However, he wants them to both earn their keep with Worzel being his valet and Aunt Sally acting as parloir maid. Unfortunately, things don’t go the way the Crowman plans when it emerges that Aunt Sally is making Worzel do all the work.

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 ?