The New Worst Witch

Last updated

The New Worst Witch
The New Worst Witch.jpg
GenreChildren's
Fantasy
Magic
Based on The Worst Witch
by Jill Murphy
Directed by Andrew Gunn
StarringAnabel Barnston
Alice Connor
Caroline O'Neill
Clare Coulter
Francesca Isherwood
Theme music composerAnthony Flynn
Opening themeTheme
ComposerAnthony Flynn
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Production location Clitheroe Castle (exterior scenes)
Production companyGranada Kids
Original release
Network ITV (CITV)
Release5 January 2005 (2005-01-05) 
27 January 2007 (2007-01-27)
Related

The New Worst Witch is a television series, based on Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch books, about a group of young witches at a Witch Academy. It ran for two series from 2005 to 2007. The series is a spin-off from The Worst Witch TV series that ran from 1998 to 2001. [1]

Contents

The series follows Henrietta "Hettie" Hubble (Mildred's younger cousin), through her years at Cackle's Academy. Mildred is seen at the start of the first episode riding her cousin's broom close to Cackle's and she then disappears. Hettie quickly becomes best friends with Mona Hallow (who happens to be Ethel's younger sister) and Crescentmoon "Cressie" Winterchild. Hettie and her friends' new enemy is Belladonna Bindweed and her sidekick Cynthia Horrocks. Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle return, and are joined by new members of staff Caspian Bloom, Miss Swoop, and Miss Widget/Miss Nightingale.

The New Worst Witch was initially planned to have a third season in 2007, but Alice Connor who played Henrietta Hubble in the series along with several other cast members decided not to sign onto the third season and thus was subsequently canceled the same year.

During November 2009, CITV showed all episodes of The New Worst Witch.

Characters

Episodes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 135 January 2005 (2005-01-05)14 October 2005 (2005-10-14)
2 1320 October 2006 (2006-10-20)27 January 2007 (2007-01-27)

Series 1 (2005)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleOriginal air date
0101"Give a Witch a Bad Name"5 January 2005 (2005-01-05)
Henrietta Hubble is all set to start her first year at Cackle's Academy for Witches, but is determined to make a good impression. Things, as they usually did for her cousin Mildred, go badly wrong. Mildred is seen dropping Hettie off at school, now an accomplished witch. After a disastrous start to school and a run-in with Belladonna Bindweed, Hettie makes friends with Ethel Hallow's sister, Mona and Crescent-Moon "Cressie" Winterchild, a member of the "Hedge Witch Community".
0202"The Confidence Trick"10 January 2005 (2005-01-10)
It is the Broomstick Aptitude Test and Hettie passes with flying colours, but Cressie fails. Hettie begs Miss Cackle to give her a second chance, like she did with Mildred, and Hettie and Mona concoct a plan to make sure she passes.
0303"Rules Rules Rules"17 January 2005 (2005-01-17)
Hettie is sick of all the rules at Cackle's so starts a petition to change them. Miss Cackle grants Hettie's wish and decides to let the school abide by Hettie's rules for a day, much to the shock and dismay of Miss Hardbroom.
0404"No Place Like Home"24 January 2005 (2005-01-24)
Cressie is missing home, so Hettie tries to cheer her up. A new girl arrives on a Charity Scholarship, Cynthia Horrocks and immediately makes an enemy out of Mona. This is because Mona's dad took over Cynthia's dad's factory and she was forced to leave Pentangle's and go to Cackle's.
0505"Trick or Treat"31 January 2005 (2005-01-31)
It is Halloween and Hettie, Mona and Cressie have been selected by Miss Nightingale to sing to the Grand Wizard. It turns out, the Grand Wizard is ill, so his place is taken by wizard author Richard Avalon. Hettie gets into trouble while trying to prove a point and is replaced by Belladonna to sing in the ceremony. Hettie decides she must prove who Richard Avalon really is.
0606"Truth or Lies"7 February 2005 (2005-02-07)
When a forbidden spell book goes missing from the library, all privileges are cut off until the book is returned and the culprit owns up. All signs point to Hettie, but she and her friends set out to clear her name.
0707"Deadly Doubles"2 September 2005 (2005-09-02)
To celebrate the school's birthday, the school has a "Witch-themed Olympics" and put into teams. After an argument between Hettie and Belladonna, Miss Cackle puts the two in a team.
0808"The Levitating Boomerang Broomstick"9 September 2005 (2005-09-09)
Hettie accidentally does a very famous broomstick trick while trying out for the Open Day Broom Formation. She takes all the glory, but then is thrown in the deep when Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom decide to drop the broom formation and expect Hettie to perform the trick for Open Day and in front of the last witch to do the trick, Araminta Hexley-Gore.
0909"The Visitors"16 September 2005 (2005-09-16)
Pentangle's School is forced to share with Cackle's after their school floods, causing fights between the two schools.
1010"The Bewitching of Mona Hallow"23 September 2005 (2005-09-23)
It's Hazlemass, a special Hedge Witch ceremony, but to Cressie's disappointment, Miss Hardbroom tells her that Cackle's does not celebrate Hazlemass. Hettie and Mona decide to help Cressie celebrate it anyway, but when the girls leave the celebration cake unattended, Belladonna puts a bewitching spell on it. Mona persuades the others that she can look after the cake without touching it. She just has a taste and immediately becomes enemies with Hettie and Cressie.
1111"The Black Hole Club"30 September 2005 (2005-09-30)
Hettie rediscovers the "Black Hole Club" and Belladonna and Cynthia push their way in, to the dismay of Hettie, Mona and Cressie. Belladonna causes chaos with the Book of Trivial Magic and soon things become desperate.
1212"Time After Time"7 October 2005 (2005-10-07)
Cressie discovers she is a Time Witch, a witch that can tamper with time, so Hettie pressures her to go back in time with her to patch a falling out with Mona.
1313"The Enemy Within"14 October 2005 (2005-10-14)
Belladonna's granny Bindweed and Miss Cackle's twin, Agatha try to take over the school yet again by using the End of Term prize, the very powerful Golden Broomstick.

Series 2 (2006–2007)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleOriginal air date
1401"The Curse of Cackle's"20 October 2006 (2006-10-20)
It is the anniversary of Cackle's and while under the influence of a potion, Hettie sets to fulfil a curse that will destroy the school.
1502"Lost and Found"27 October 2006 (2006-10-27)
Hettie uses trivial magic to bring her dog Kitty back when he is lost, but causes havoc when everything lost comes back.
1603"Girls Will Be Boys"3 November 2006 (2006-11-03)
Miss Hardbroom's nephew, Artemis, is staying at Cackle's to study for the "Wiz of the Year" Competition. Mona has also entered the competition, but Artemis tells her it is only for boys, so he and Hettie turn Mona into a boy.
1704"Next Week’s News"10 November 2006 (2006-11-10)
Hettie, Mona and Cressie find an old printing press and start a newspaper. They improvise some of the stories, unaware that the press makes the stories come true, which means Belladonna has a wart on her nose, Miss Cackle writes poems and Miss Hardbroom is going to be eaten by a giant owl.
1805"The Big Sleep"17 November 2006 (2006-11-17)
The teachers are put to sleep while a big inspection is going on, so Miss Swoop, the only teacher who didn't drink the sleeping potion, steps in to save the day.
1906"Back to Basics"24 November 2006 (2006-11-24)
The school goes back to basics and cancels their factory-made potion ingredients so the girls can get a taste of being "real witches".
2007"The Friendship Test"1 December 2006 (2006-12-01)
It is Cressie's Hedge Witch training course and she must become friends with her enemy.
2108"King Kong Kittie"8 December 2006 (2006-12-08)
The animal inspector comes to inspect the girls' cats, Miss Swoop's owl and Hettie's dog, but Belladonna puts a spell on Hettie's dog, Kitty to make him bigger than the castle.
2209"The Wish Wimble"15 December 2006 (2006-12-15)
Every seven years, there is supposedly a magic wishing well that will grant any wish written on a pebble thrown into the well, but Miss Cackle and Hettie get their wires crossed and as usual Hettie tries to save the day.
2310"Hettie's Final Warning"6 January 2007 (2007-01-06)
Hettie is put on a final warning, so she takes an obedience potion. Belladonna and Cynthia find this out so use it to get Hettie expelled. Mona and Cressie work on a plan to get her reinstated.
2411"Mr Perky Pentangle"13 January 2007 (2007-01-13)
The Pentangle's Owl goes missing and Miss Pentangle visits Cackle's to the school of stealing the owl as a form of school rivalry.
2512"Saturday Witch Fever"20 January 2007 (2007-01-20)
The school organises a trip to a theme park but Miss Cackle comes down with what everyone thinks is Witch Fever.
2613"The Odd Couple"27 January 2007 (2007-01-27)
Hettie explodes a grape in Cressie's room so all girls on Cressie's wing must share with the other girls. Mona must share with Belladonna, but they have disagreements over the rules and Cressie stays with Hettie, but Cressie is a snorer. Hettie sings a lullaby to her to cure her, but gets the words wrong and turns Cressie back into a baby. Meanwhile, there is love blooming in the staff room thanks to Mona Hallow.

Cancellation

In 2006, Alice Connor who played Henrietta Hubble decided not to renew her contract for a third series as well as a few other cast members as they began to age and they were becoming more interested in pursuing other roles despite the series being expected to return.

Related Research Articles

Barbara Jane Horrocks is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for the role in the film version of Little Voice.

<i>The Worst Witch</i> Series of childrens novels by Jill Murphy

The Worst Witch is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. The series are primarily about a girl who attends a witch school and fantasy stories, with eight books published. The first, The Worst Witch, was published in 1974 by Allison & Busby, and the most recent, First Prize for the Worst Witch, was published in 2018 by Puffin Books, the current publisher of the series. The books have become some of the most successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and have sold more than 5 million copies.

<i>The Herbs</i> Television series

The Herbs is a television series for young children made for the BBC by Graham Clutterbuck's FilmFair company. It was written by Michael Bond, directed by Ivor Wood using 3D stop motion model animation and first transmitted from 12 February 1968 in the BBC1 Watch with Mother timeslot. There were 13 episodes in the series, each one 15 minutes long.

Georgina Sherrington is an English actress. Sherrington portrayed Mildred Hubble in two series beginning with The Worst Witch (1998-2001) and concluding with Weirdsister College. She made a guest appearance in a spin-off The New Worst Witch. She has appeared in several short films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Ghostley</span> American actress (1923–2007)

Alice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–72) on Bewitched, as Cousin Alice (1970–71) on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton (1986–93) on Designing Women, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992. She was a regular on Nichols (1971–72) and The Julie Andrews Hour (1972–73).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Freeman</span> American actress (1926–2014)

Monica Elizabeth "Mona" Freeman was an American actress and painter.

Jill Murphy was a British author and illustrator of children's books. First published in 1974, she was best known for the Worst Witch novels and Large Family picture books, with sales amounting to several millions. Her books have also been adapted for stage and television. She has been called "one of the most engaging writers and illustrators for children in the land".

<i>Weirdsister College</i> British TV series or programme

Weirdsister College is the sequel to British children's television series The Worst Witch (1998–2001), based on The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. Weirdsister College aired on ITV from 28 November to 14 December 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmian May</span> English actress

Charmian Rosemary May was an English character actress best known for her television and film roles. She appeared in the sitcoms The Good Life, The Upper Hand and Keeping Up Appearances, and the film Bridget Jones's Diary. She appeared as Miss Pershore in episodes 6 and 7 of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare Higgins</span> British actress (born 1955)

Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins is an English actress. Her film appearances include Hellraiser (1987), Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Small Faces (1996), The Golden Compass (2007) and The Worst Witch (2017-2020).

Elizabeth Bower is an English actress, known for her role as Dr Melody Bell in the BBC soap opera Doctors from 2007 to 2009.

<i>The Worst Witch</i> (1998 TV series) 1998–2001 television series

The Worst Witch is an ITV television series, running from 1998 to 2001, about a group of young witches at a school for magic. The series stars Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones, and is based on The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. It aired for a total of 40 episodes spread over three series between 1998 and 2001, before being followed by Weirdsister College. Most episodes revolved around the school, following the adventures of Mildred and her friends. The series was later followed by The New Worst Witch, which ran for two series and chronicled the experiences of Mildred's younger cousin Hettie as she attended the school.

Kate Duchêne is an English actress best known for her role as the teacher Miss Hardbroom in the adaptation of the children's books The Worst Witch.

<i>The Worst Witch</i> (film) 1986 British television film

The Worst Witch is a 1986 British musical fantasy television film based on the 1974 children's book of the same name by Jill Murphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Shaffer</span> British actress (b. 1992)

Anna Maureen Barth Shaffer is an English actress. She gained prominence through her roles as Romilda Vane in the Harry Potter films (2009–2011) and Ruby Button in the E4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2011–2018). As of 2019, she plays Triss Merigold in the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher.

Caroline O'Neill is an English television and theatre actress. She is best known for her role as Andrea Clayton in Coronation Street.

<i>The Worst Witch</i> (2017 TV series) Fantasy drama childrens television series

The Worst Witch is a fantasy drama children's television series. Based on novel series of the same name published in 1974 by Jill Murphy, the series follows Mildred Hubble and her friends Maud Spellbody and Enid Nightshade and rivals Ethel Hallow, Drusilla Paddock and Felicity Foxglove's adventures and education at Cackle's Academy under caring headmistress Miss Cackle and strict deputy headmistress Miss Hardbroom. It is the fifth adaptation of The Worst Witch series after the 1986 television film, the 1998 television series, the 2001 television spin-off and the 2005 television spin-off.

References

  1. "The Worst Witch | TV Series 1998–2001". IMDb.