Growing up watching Worzel, for years I'd wanted to read about its creation, and I ended up writing the book for the simple reason that I wanted to read it. I began researching the show as a hobby and soon found myself on a roll, piecing together the production through press clippings and contemporary reports. As I discovered more, I knew there was enough material to fill a book, and so off I went, with a vague plan to eventually self-publish it.
The project quickly grew in scale. As I began conducting interviews, the story developed and many of the dozens of interviewees generously scoured their attics and albums, uncovering a haul of photographs. Before long, I'd decided that the material had outgrown my ability to edit it and that a proper publisher was required. My friend Matt West had established Miwk Publishing a few years ago and I'd been impressed by their output. They have an eye for quality and I trusted their taste. Matt took a look at my part-completed manuscript and, within a few short hours, Miwk were on board. That turned out to be one of the best things I could have done. Miwk saw the potential in a Worzel book and came to it with enthusiasm and ambition. They invested in top-notch production, colour printing, and were determined to make this something special.
Throughout the project, I've been amazed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the show's cast and crew. Production designer Hazel Peiser searched high and low and turned up her original photo files from the show, containing hundreds of set pictures and polaroids, along with the original sketches for Worzel and Aunt Sally's costumes. Director of photography Wolf Suschitzky, still going strong at 104 years old, shared many beautiful atmospheric portraits, while New Zealand make-up artist Shayne Radford found a carrier bag with dozens of precious snapshots culled from the show's make-up room wall, complete with tell-tale pinholes and splatter.
I wanted to write a book that explained the strange and unique appeal of Worzel Gummidge – the show's undiluted mixture of slapstick, sentimentality and occasional tinges of folk horror. Speaking to the cast and crew, what shone through was their pride for the work. Hardly anyone gave the impression of Worzel being 'just another job.' Much of the credit for that rests with James Hill, Worzel's tenacious and talented producer/director. James was an elusive figure to capture on the page, having evaded interviews throughout his career, but his clarity of vision for the series cannot be underestimated. By all accounts, James could be charming, demanding, exasperating, formidable and generous. He was a taskmaster and a craftsman. I'd have liked to have met him.
Sherlock creator Mark Gatiss contributed a splendid foreword, drawing on his experiences of working with Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs, which goes some way to unravelling the macabre, freewheeling appeal of Worzel Gummidge, a character who seems to have enchanted and terrified a generation of children in equal measure. The show's success defies full explanation, but I put much of it down to the alchemy of an incredible pooling of talents, working in harmony and treating a silly idea with absolute sincerity. The Worzel Book is a tribute to them all, and for those of us first charmed by Worzel during our formative years, I hope the book rekindles many happy memories.
The Worzel Book can be ordered from Miwk at a discount price by clicking here.
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