Belfry Witches

Lore & Background

The show centered on Skirty Marm (Lucy Davis) and Old Noshie (Laura Sadler), two witches who lived in a church belfry after being banished from Witch Island. They caused mischief in the village of Tranter's End. Key characters included the friendly rector Chris Parsons (Scott Charles), a resident 'naughty boy', the nasty Mrs Bagg-Meanly (Paula Jacobs), and the Head Witch Mrs Abercrombie (Jan Harvey), who had banished the pair. The show completed its intended run of one series and was not renewed; it was never released on video or DVD.

Premise & Setting

The series centred on two witches who, after being exiled from their home on Witch Island by the Head Witch, were forced to relocate to Tranter's End, a quiet English village. Their chosen residence was the belfry of the local church — the very architectural feature that gave the programme its title. Rather than settling into a peaceful new existence, the pair spent their days wreaking mischief on the village's residents.

The narrative engine of the show was the friction between the witches' chaotic antics and the orderly, small-town world they had invaded. The church rector found himself the unwitting host of his belfry squatters, while the village's other inhabitants — including a particularly ill-tempered woman and a local 'naughty boy' — became targets or collateral in the witches' schemes. The Head Witch loomed over the story as the authority figure who had originally sent the pair into exile, providing a thread of ongoing conflict that kept the stakes alive across episodes.

Cast & Ensemble

The series built its world around a compact ensemble of memorable characters. Laura Sadler played Skirty Marm and Lucy Davis played Old Noshie, the two mischievous witches at the heart of the story. Scott Charles portrayed Chris Tucker, the friendly rector whose church belfry served as the witches' home. Paula Jacobs took on the role of Mrs Bagg-Meanly, a nasty woman in the village whose very name signalled her disposition.

Jan Harvey appeared as Mrs Abercrombie, the Head Witch responsible for banishing the pair from Witch Island. The cast also included the village's resident 'naughty boy,' a recurring figure in the witches' schemes. As a British production airing on the BBC's CBBC channel, the show targeted a young audience with its blend of supernatural comedy and village-drama tropes. The character dynamics — the bumbling rector, the sharp-tongued neighbour, the distant authority figure — created a familiar small-town comedy structure filtered through a distinctly witchy lens.

Production & Broadcast History

Belfry Witches was adapted from a children's book series written by Kate Saunders, an author and journalist, bringing her characters to the small screen for a young British audience. The series aired on the BBC's CBBC slot, premiering in September 1999. Its run lasted just over a year, with the thirteenth and final episode broadcast in November 2000.

The show was ultimately cancelled due to poor ratings, a fate that kept it from ever being released on video or DVD — meaning the complete series exists only as a broadcast memory for those who caught it on air. Thirteen episodes spread over roughly fourteen months suggests a modest production scale, consistent with a children's slot on a public broadcaster. The relatively short run and the total absence of any home-video release have contributed to the show's obscurity, as new viewers have had very limited access to the material since it left the schedule.

Music & Cultural Footprint

One of the show's most memorable elements was its theme tune, 'Something Spooky,' performed by the all-female pop group Atomic Kitten. The track was released as a B-side on their 1999 single 'Right Now,' meaning it reached a wider audience than just the show's television viewers. For a CBBC programme, having a chart-adjacent pop act compose the opening music was a notable touch that gave the series a contemporary, energetic feel. Beyond the music, the show's legacy is shaped largely by its absence from home media.

Because Belfry Witches was never released on video or DVD, it has remained largely inaccessible to new generations of fans. This scarcity, combined with its short thirteen-episode run and cancellation over ratings, has cemented its status as a curiosity of late-1990s British children's television. For those who watched it on BBC CBBC between 1999 and 2000, it occupies a specific slice of childhood memory that is difficult to revisit.

Reader's Guide

Belfry Witches holds a minor place in British children's television history as a short-lived CBBC series from the turn of the millennium. Based on the children's book series by author and journalist Kate Saunders, the show ran for just over a year, airing thirteen episodes between September 1999 and November 2000. Despite featuring a theme tune performed by the popular all-female pop group Atomic Kitten—'Something Spooky', released as a B-side on their 1999 single 'Right Now'—the program failed to attract sufficient viewership and was cancelled. Its legacy is limited by its brief run and lack of home video release, though it remains a curiosity for fans of late-1990s British television and for those interested in adaptations of Saunders' work.