Worzel Gummidge fans have been getting their turnips in a twist over a new episode of the Mackenzie Crook reboot of the beloved children’s TV show. A special Christmas instalment of the series, which chronicles the adventures of a chatty scarecrow in bucolic rural England, has been accused of Carry On…levels of nudge-nudge innuendo.
Viewers took to social media to complain about the unusual frequency of suggestive bird names, including the “red-knobbed coot” and “penduline tit” in a bird-watched themed instalment called “Twitchers”. In one scene, a bird fancier tells a fictional news reporter he “travelled 350 miles to see a blue-footed booby”.
Worzel’s Twitchers has created bit of a flap on Twitter. But it is worth asking who the real boobies are in this scenario. Is it Crook, who has brought a cackling glee to the series, in which he writes the script as well as donning an iconic straw hat to portray Worzel? Or is it those who feel children’s television should be a safe space with padded corners, stair-gates as far as the eye can see and with absolutely no space for adult humour?
Kids’ TV, it should be remembered, has a long tradition of sneaking in grown-up gags. From beloved Seventies mainstays such as the Magic Roundabout all the way up to Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom on Channel 5, children’s entertainment has always excelled at appealing to children while giving their parents a subtle – or occasionally not-so-subtle – dig in the ribs. Very often “Along Time Ago in a Land Far Away” becomes “Along Time Ago in a Land Fnar-Fnar Away”.
These japes serve the important function of making children’s entertainment tolerable for parents. Amid the syrupy dialogue and simplistic storylines, a mildly subversive one-liner or even a groaner about a rudely-named bird can be a comedic life-line for a grown-up just about clinging on.
