BBC One returns to Leopard’s ‘Worzel Gummidge’ with Mackenzie Crook

Worzel Gummidge

The UK’s BBC has ordered a third one-hour adaptation based on the Worzel Gummidge novels.

Saucy Nancy will debut on BBC One later this year and has been adapted by Mackenzie Crook, with the show inspired by the classic books by Barbara Euphan Todd.

Crook will again direct and star as Gummidge, while Argonon Group-owned Leopard Pictures is working with Treasure Trove Productions and Lola Entertainment to produce.

The film, commissioned by BBC comedy boss Shane Allen and chief content officer Charlotte Moore, follows scarecrow Gummidge and his friends as they attempt to help an old carved ship’s figurehead – Saucy Nancy – back to sea. The cast also includes India Brown, Thierry Wickens and Shirley Henderson, in addition to Vanessa Redgrave.

Crook said: “I’m excited and grateful to be making a new episode of Worzel Gummidge after a difficult year for everyone. We’re heading out of Scatterbrook for this story on a day trip to the seaside, some fresh air and some wide open space.”

Allen added: “What is it with Mackenzie and shows set in a field? Following on from last year’s bucolic eco-fables we find Worzel in mischievous form dispensing his sun-baked wit and wisdom in another heartwarming tale. This cements BBC One’s unique reputation as the home of UK family comedy drama.”

Last year’s Christmas episodes of the BBC’s Worzel Gummidge were recently acquired for distribution by ITV Studios (ITVS), which will also sell the new show. The former was previously sold by the now defunct Kew Media Group.