Zoë stars in Worzel Gummidge this Christmas – and is currently filming Shadow and Bone

24 December 2019 23:35

BBC One's Worzel Gummidge – ‘The Green Man’

Here’s the latest trailer for the BBC’s eagerly anticipated adaptation of Worzel Gummidge, which Zoë filmed over the summer. She appears as Lady Bloomsbury Barton in episode two of this family TV show, ‘The Green Man’. Fans in the UK can catch it on 27 December (BBC One, 7-8 pm).

Do those giant glasses remind you of anyone? At the press screening on 10 December, Zoë revealed that Lady Bloomsbury Barton’s look is inspired by style icon Iris Apfel (as reported by @WHGummidge, a Twitter account devoted to Worzel Gummidge). ‘We had the idea that she’d be [one of those] completely upper-class people who have no money,’ Zoe said, describing how she and the team behind the show developed the character's appearance. ‘She’s a creative. She’s an eccentric.’ (There’s surely a hint of Poirot’s friend Ariadne Oliver about her too!)

Lady Bloomsbury Barton is ‘the village free spirit’, in the BBC’s words. ‘The Green Man’ finds her ‘busy organising a charity fundraiser that includes a prize for the best-looking scarecrow. Worzel sees a chance to put his “good looks” to use.’

Look out for a couple of ZoeÂ’s Britannia co-stars in the cast, Mackenzie Crook (who plays Worzel Gummidge and also wrote and directed the show) and Steve Pemberton (in the role of grumpy farmer Mr Braithwaite).

This ‘funny, exciting, cheeky, magical, feel-good’ programme has already earned a 5* review from the Radio Times. The review says that ‘Zoë Wanamaker is [...] great value as the local lady of the manor – with whom Worzel takes tea, despite having no insides within which to absorb it’!

Shadow and Bone on Netflix

I dropped a hint about this TV project recently and am now allowed to discuss it in more detail (hooray!)... Zoë is working on Shadow and Bone, an epic, eight-part Netflix series based on Leigh Bardugo’s hugely successful fantasy novels.

As the entertainment website Deadline explains, ‘Shadow and Bone is set in a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness [...]. A young soldier [Alina Starkov, played by Jessie Mei Li] uncovers a power that finally might unite her country, but as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her.’

Zoë will appear as Baghra, Alina’s ‘ruthless teacher and trainer’. There's high praise for this casting choice from Leigh Bardugo herself, who describes Zoë as ‘PERFECTION’.

Filming for Shadow and Bone is taking place in Budapest. ItÂ’s not yet known when the series will be available to stream, so watch this space :-)

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