There have been many witches on television in recent years, from Willow Rosenberg on Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Sabrina Spellman on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Fans of magical stories might remember the 1998 TV show The Worst Witch. It aired until 2001 and was adapted from the novel series by Jill Murphy. A reboot started airing in 2017.
As the title suggests, the witches at the show's school weren't very good at magic, which was part of why it was so much fun to watch these young characters. Just like it's enjoyable to watch Harry Potter and dream about all of the spells, it's cool to imagine what it would be like to attend a magical school. There are many fascinating facts that even die-hard fans of this old series might not realize.
Felicity Jones Didn't Want to Play Ethel Beyond Season 1
Felicity Jones is now a famous actress known for starring in Rogue One and The Theory Of Everything. Her film roles are highly ranked on IMDb and she's a versatile actress who is equally at home in an indie film or a blockbuster franchise.
Jones played Ethel Hallow on The Worst Witch, but after season 1, she was gone from the series, and Katy Allen took over the role. It can be a strange and jarring viewing experience when a character is suddenly played by someone else, but it was actually Felicity Jones' decision to leave, as her mom said that she got too homesick making the series.
The Novels Didn't Give The Teachers Any First Names
While viewers of The Worst Witch are familiar with the creative and spooky first names that the teachers have been given, it turns out that they didn't have those names in the novel series.
On the TV show, the teachers are named Amelia Cackle, Constance Hardbroom, Imogen Drill, and Davina Bat.
There Was A Glaring Error In The Novels That The Show Corrected
The 1998 adaptation of The Worst Witch gave the writers the opportunity to correct an error.
In the opening novel, Ethel becomes a pig and she speaks normally. This doesn't makes sense because when she transformed Mildred into a frog, Mildred had no speech. When the TV show adapted this scene, they made sure that Ethel stayed silent in pig form.
The Show Can Be Watched In Different Languages
Many TV shows are translated into different languages, which opens up the audience able to discover the show.
In the case of The Worst Witch, the series has been dubbed in Czech, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, and French.
Jill Murphy Was Happy With The Show
Authors don't always love adaptations of their work, and Worst Witch writer Jill Murphy didn't love the 1980s movie. But she did enjoy the 1998 TV series and thought that the beginning of the show was really great. As is often the case, she wasn't that pleased when the show ran out of novel material and had to create their own storylines.
Jones Isn't A Fan Of Her Character
Sometimes an actor or actress will have trouble watching themselves on an older TV show or movie, as they've grown so much since then. That's definitely the case with Felicity Jones, as she watched a Worst Witch clip and commented on her character. "Terrible character!" she said about Ethel.
Drucilla's Name Isn't Spelled Correctly
Apparently, the character of Drucilla, played by Holly Rivers, didn't have the correct spelling on the show. Her name was meant to be spelled "Drusilla."
When the show came back in 2017, the spelling went back to Drusilla, so this error was fixed.
The Books Are Inspired By The Author's Education
It's always interesting to learn how an author is inspired to write a book series. Stephen King wrote IT after reading a kid's story, and many writers have fascinating backstories of how they stumbled upon the story that made them famous.
Jill Murphy was inspired by her own education experiences at a Catholic school and wanted to write about students in an academic setting. She created the character of Mildred because of the way that she was at school, as she was clumsy and tried hard but had "a tendency to daydream."
Jessica Fox Enjoyed When Explosions Happened
There are a few actors on the show who were child stars and went on to enjoy long and successful careers. Jessica Fox played Enid Nightshade, and she has recently talked about how delightful her experience on the TV show was.
The actress explained that she enjoyed when explosions happened and thought that it was a lot of fun. She said, "And I just remember they had little explosives, and they were made out of a special glass that shatters if you just touch it. Everything was just exploding around me, I remember thinking that was really, really cool."
Jones Came Back For The Spin-Off
In the case of The Vampire Diaries, spin-offs can be comforting, but often, they just don't last.
There was a spin-off of The Worst Witch called Weirdsister College, and Felicity Jones came back to play Ethel once again. The show didn't do very well and only lasted for one 13-episode season. It followed Mildred Hubble as she went to London, England's Weirdsister College.