The Worst Witch is a live-action television series produced in the United Kingdom. The series stars Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones, and is based on The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy (published from 1974 onwards). It aired for a total of 40 episodes spread over three series between 1998 and 2001.
The series aired on ITV in the UK, as well as HBO Family in the United States, being one of the main programs when it launched. On HBO Family, the series aired until 2004, primarily under the Magnet block.
Synopsis[]
Each episode features a witch named Mildred Hubble who attends Cackle's Academy, a school that enrolls other female witches. She's called the "Worst Witch" because she's always caught getting into trouble. The series, at least the first and second season, dramatizes The Worst Witch books, while the third seasons appears to have originally written material.
Characters[]
- Mildred Hubble (portrayed by Georgina Sherrington) – The clumsy protagonist in training. who never seems to get anything right at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. Mildred does not come from a witch family like most of the other girls, but earns a scholarship at Cackle's Academy through a first-class piece of creative writing (she is portrayed as being creative throughout the series, especially in art) which greatly impresses Miss Cackle. She is kind and hardworking, but due to her adventurous nature, she often causes trouble.
- Ethel Hallow (portrayed by Felicity Jones in season 1, Katy Allen in seasons 2 and 3) - Mildred Hubble's snobby rival who is a straight-A student and a proud model student to her classmates, but acts sweet and innocent when teachers are around. Ethel takes pleasure in taunting Mildred about her inability to train her cat, to ride a broomstick, and Mildred responds by turning Ethel into a pig. Drusilla Paddock (portrayed by Holly Rivers) is her side friend.
- Maud Moonshine (portrayed by Emma Brown) - Mildred's best friend. She's a decent and considerate person, but grows weary of Mildred's incessant clumsiness and often lectures her on how to improve herself.
- Enid Nightshade (portrayed by Jessica Fox) – Another friend of Mildred who at first uses practical jokes to simply get Mildred to like her, which almost didn't work. Overall she is friendly and kindhearted, but sometimes oversteps the mark in her attempt to befriend and help people. She takes an instant liking to Mildred and hopes to be her friend.
- Miss Constance Hardbroom (portrayed by Kate Duchêne) - The headmistress of Cackle's Academy. Tall, scrawny and sour-faced, she strikes fear into the students' hearts, and seems to have a particular resentment for Mildred.
- Miss Amelia Cackle (portrayed by Clare Coulter) - Another headmistress who is more sympathetic to Mildred than Miss Hardbroom.
Episodes[]
Season 1 (1998–1999)[]
| No. | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Battle of the Broomsticks" | October 22, 1998 |
| 2 | "When We Feast at the Midnight Hour" | October 29, 1998 |
| 3 | "A Pig In a Poke" | November 5, 1998 |
| 4 | "A Mean Halloween" | November 12, 1998 |
| 5 | "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble" | November 19, 1998 |
| 6 | "Monkey Business" | November 26, 1998 |
| 7 | "Miss Cackle's Birthday Surprise" | December 3, 1998 |
| 8 | "The Great Outdoors" | December 10, 1998 |
| 9 | "The Heat is On" | December 17, 1998 |
| 10 | "Sorcery and Chips" | January 7, 1999 |
| 11 | "Let Them Eat Cake" | January 14, 1999 |
| 12 | "Sweet Talking Guys" | January 21, 1999 |
| 13 | "A Bolt from the Blue" | January 28, 1999 |
Season 2 (1999–2000)[]
| No. | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Old Hats and New Brooms" | November 4, 1999 |
| 2 | "Alarms and Diversions" | November 11, 1999 |
| 3 | "It's a Frog's Life" | November 18, 1999 |
| 4 | "Crumpets for Tea" | November 25, 1999 |
| 5 | "The Inspector Calls" | December 2, 1999 |
| 6 | "Animal Magic" | December 9, 1999 |
| 7 | "Carried Away" | December 16, 1999 |
| 8 | "The Dragon's Hoard" | December 23, 1999 |
| 9 | "The Genius of the Lamp" | January 6, 2000 |
| 10 | "Up in the Air" | January 13, 2000 |
| 11 | "Fair Is Foul & Fouls Are Fair" | January 20, 2000 |
| 12 | "Green Fingers and Thumbs" | January 27, 2000 |
| 13 | "The Millennium Bug" | February 3, 2000 |
Season 3 (2000–2001)[]
| No. | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Secret Society" | November 9, 2000 |
| 2 | "An Unforgettable Experience" | November 16, 2000 |
| 3 | "Which Witch is Which?" | November 23, 2000 |
| 4 | "The Witchy Hour" | November 30, 2000 |
| 5 | "Learning the Hard Way" | December 7, 2000 |
| 6 | "The Hair Witch Project" | December 14, 2000 |
| 7 | "Just Like Clockwork" | December 21, 2000 |
| 8 | "Cinderella in Boots" | December 24, 2000 |
| 9 | "Art Wars" | January 19, 2001 |
| 10 | "Power Drill" | January 22, 2001 |
| 11 | "Better Dead Than Co-ed" | January 23, 2001 |
| 12 | "The Lost Chord" | January 24, 2001 |
| 13 | "Unfairground" | January 25, 2001 |
| 14 | "The Uninvited" | January 26, 2001 |
Trivia[]
- After this 1998 series, there have been three Worst Witch TV series after this one: Weirdsister College which only aired for a season from 2001-2002, The New Worst Witch which ran from 2005 to 2007, as well as a 2017 series simply titled The Worst Witch which could've been seen on Netflix in the US (as well as a brief unusual airing on Disney Channel in late 2021).
- HBO Family aired a Canadian-US version of the series.