Entertainment

Sir Michael Palin and Zoe Wanamaker sign up for Worzel Gummidge

The former Monty Python star will play The Green Man in the BBC One adaptation.
The former Monty Python star will play The Green Man in the BBC One adaptation. The former Monty Python star will play The Green Man in the BBC One adaptation.

Sir Michael Palin and Zoe Wanamaker have joined the cast of Worzel Gummidge.

Mackenzie Crook had previously been announced as the much-loved scarecrow in the BBC One adaptation.

The Detectorists star has also penned and is directing the production.

Sir Michael Palin
Sir Michael Palin Sir Michael Palin (David Mirzoeff/PA)

Former Monty Python star Sir Michael, who will play The Green Man, creator of the scarecrows, said: “It’s a lovely part for me, but the whole script is very memorable and touching, and very funny too.

“It quite skilfully weaves in something for everybody all the time.”

My Family actress Wanamaker will play eccentric local aristocrat Lady Bloomsbury Barton.

She said: “The whole thing is so charming and inventive. It’s the sort of thing I’d watch. I’m sure it will be a huge success. I know it will – it’s divine.”

Zoe Wanamaker
Zoe Wanamaker Zoe Wanamaker (Ian West/PA)

League Of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton will play Mr Braithwaite, the farmer, and Rosie Cavaliero will play Mrs Braithwaite.

Pemberton said: “This is the kind of show the whole family can enjoy together. It has a lot of humour, a lot of visual humour too, and I think kids will enjoy watching the children being central to the story.”

Cavaliero said: “It’s a story about the imagination, and children escaping into this different world. Mackenzie’s version is totally contemporary.”

The modern adaptation is inspired by the classic books by Barbara Euphan Todd.