Wizadora

Did You Know?

• One episode of Wizadora starring Lizzie McPhee was broadcast on CITV on 5 January 2013 as part of a CITV anniversary special, attracting 460,000 viewers.
• As of June 2020, episodes from Series One are now showing on BritBox in the UK.

Development

The original unaired pilot for this series featured Connie Booth, an actress and writer known for Fawlty Towers, who learned about the character through John Cleese after he showed interest in the project. That pilot never made it to air. The concept later became a language-learning resource for children studying English as a second language, released by Oxford University Press in 1991. Alongside the series, they produced books, audio, and other media. Booth played Wizadora in the pilot, but Maria Gough took over the role for the Oxford University Press materials. Cathy Lawday wrote and edited those books and media. In 1992, Meridian Broadcasting decided to air the series on television, which led to major changes. Wendy van der Plank became the new Wizadora, holding the part from 1993 to 1996. Lizzie McPhee then played the character from 1997 until the show ended. Tatty, originally portrayed by a woman named Debbie Cumming, was recast as a male role, with Joe Greco from 1993 to 1994 and Steven Ryde from 1994 to 1998. Phoebe, first played by Emma Amos, was turned into a life-sized model. Many new characters appeared, and the original ones received updated looks. Connie Booth was later brought back to write episodes, along with other writers.

Characters

The title character of the series is Wizadora, a trainee wizard who later becomes an apprentice. She gets her magic wand in the pilot episode and initially struggles to cast spells correctly. Because of stray spells, some objects in her kitchen have gained the ability to talk. Wizadora frequently speaks directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall, and often asks viewers to help her with her magic. Her signature phrases are "Oh, botheration!" and "Time for a bit of Wizzification!". The character was portrayed by Connie Booth in the unaired pilot, by Maria Gough in the Oxford series, and by Wendy van der Plank from 1993 to 1996 and Lizzie McPhee from 1997 to 1998 in the ITV series. Tatty Bogle is a slow-witted scarecrow who lives in Wizadora's back garden and constantly mixes up his words. In the Oxford series, the role was played by a woman, Debbie Cumming, but for ITV the character was reimagined as a man, played by Joe Greco from 1993 to 1994 and Steven Ryde from 1994 to 1998. Ryde also served as the voice-over announcer for ITV's CITV strand during that time. Stan the Shopkeeper, played by Brian Murphy, runs a shop and regularly receives new items from a magical catalogue. He is very wary of Wizadora's spells. Pippa the Postwoman, played by Tessa Hatts, delivers mail by bicycle and often gets worn out. Top, Sticky, and Bottom are three talking drawer people that look like socks. Wizadora once called them "a real nuisance." They are very mischievous, often teasing Hangle or Filbert, and constantly try to steal food or cause trouble when Wizadora is not looking. Their pranks frequently lead to chaos; for example, Top once built a Grub Grabber to snatch food, but it scared Filbert, who knocked over potions that turned Very Old Fish into a purple blob. Wizadora typically punishes them by zapping them back into their drawers with her wand. In the Oxford series, a fourth character named Middle was part of this group. Phoebe is a talking telephone. In the Oxford series, Emma Amos played the role while wearing a pink costume. In the ITV series, Phoebe was a life-sized model telephone, initially pink with a yellow headset, later changing to orange with a red headset. From Series Six onward, her headset was red with coloured stars. Four different voice actors provided Phoebe's voice during the ITV run.

Home video and DVD

The earliest version of the show has been released on DVD by Oxford University Press, but this is an educational package rather than the ITV version. Some VHS cassettes of the show were released in the mid-1990s by Video Collection International Ltd., featuring episodes from Series One to Three. Titles include 'Wizadora – The Magic Parcel' (14 June 1993), 'Wizadora – A Colourful Day' (26 July 1993), 'Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles' (16 August 1993), and 'Wizadora – Wellingtons and Snails' (1 August 1994). Additional VHS releases include 'My Little Wizadora' compilations in 1996, as well as 'Wizadora – A Message from Max' (3 April 1995), 'Wizadora – Sneezeberries' (3 April 1995), 'Wizadora – Too Big, Too Small' (18 August 1995), 'Wizadora – Sixes And Nines' (18 August 1995), and 'Wizadora – Bubble Trouble' (18 August 1995). Other releases include 'Wizadora – Oxford DVD', 'Wizadora – A message From Max And Other Stories', and 'Wizadora – Series One, Volume One'.

Revamp

In 2003, Entertainment Rights created a nine-minute pilot for a possible reboot of the series, intended for Channel 5's Milkshake! block, with Anne Foy playing Wizadora. The pilot used a fresh version of the original theme song and kept the set design broadly similar to the earlier show, but the characters received new looks, none of the original models were reused, and several minor new characters appeared. The production relied heavily on CGI and chroma key effects. The proposed series was not picked up, reportedly because it was seen as too expensive. While there are no plans to revive the ITV version, the Oxford series continues to be produced and is repeated on SWR Television. The original Oxford series remains in use as a tool for teaching English to children as a second language. DVDs, books, audio tapes, and a PC CD-ROM are still sold online. A free app came out in 2016. A website launched in 2015 but went offline by 2018. In 2016, SWR Television Educational Programmes in Germany set up a site for the series to encourage use of Wizadora films and educational games in German elementary schools. Free educational games based on the series have been available since 2016, including apps for Android and iOS, as well as web-based versions for desktop computers, all accessible at www.wizadora.de.