Wizardora

Wizadora is a children's television programme originally broadcast on SWR in 1991 and then ITV in the United Kingdom from 5 January 1993 to 19 December 1997. The series was created by Don Arioli and Carolyne Cullum.

The title character, Wizadora, is a trainee wizard who is always trying to solve problems using magic. The episodes all took place in or around Wizadora's cottage. Originally Wizadora was used as a language tool for non English speakers. The title role of Wizadora was initially played by Connie Booth in an unaired pilot, and Cathy Lawday for the Oxford University Press.

Wendy van der Plank took over when the series was picked up by ITV between September 6, 1993 and December 12, 1996. From September 2, 1997, Lizzie McPhee took over the role, although Wendy then returned for the last set of episodes from 6 January 1998 up to the end of the show's run.

Development
A pilot show starred Fawlty Towers writer and actress Connie Booth, who had been alerted to the character by John Cleese who had taken an interest in the production. The pilot was never broadcast. The concept was then developed into a language teaching tool for children to learn the English language published by Oxford University Press in 1991. Books, audio, and media were produced alongside the series. Cathy Lawday, who originally played the title character, also edited the books.

In 1993, ITV took up the series. Considerable changes were made for this series. Some major changes included the introduction of Wendy as Wizadora, who remained as the character from 1993-1996, and again in 1998. Tatty, who was originally played by a woman, was now played by a man (Joe Greco-1993–94, Steven Ryde-1994–98) and Phoebe, who was originally played by an actor, was re-introduced as a 'life-sized' Model. Many characters were introduced and the original characters were given a makeover.

Characters

 * Wizadora - the title character, a trainee wizard who receives her

magic wand in the pilot episode, initially has problems with getting her spells right. Some of the things in Wizadora's kitchen are able to talk due to stray spells. Wizadora often breaks the fourth wall and talks to the viewers, and usually asks for their help when casting her spells. Wizadora's catchphrases include, "Oh, botheration!" and "Time for a bit of Wizzification!". Wizadora's companions included –


 * Tatty Bogle – a dim-witted scarecrow who lives in Wizadora's back garden and continually gets words muddled up. Played in the ITV series by Joe Greco (1993–1994) and Steven Ryde (1995–1998). Ryde was the voice-over announcer between programmes for the CITV service during the same period.
 * Stan the Shopkeeper, who regularly takes delivery of new magical catalogue items, played by Brian Murphy
 * Pippa the Postwoman, played by Tessa Hatts
 * Top/Sticky/Bottom – three talking drawer people, who resemble socks.

Once described as "a real nuisance" by Wizadora, they are very naughty, usually teasing Hangle and/or Filbert, and are always attempting to steal food or getting up to some kind of mischief whenever Wizadora's back is turned. Their antics usually end up causing a lot of trouble; one time Top invented a Grub Grabber to try and steal some food, but the device frightened Filbert who accidentally knocked over some potions, some of which got into Very Old Fish's tank and turned him into a purple blob. Wizadora usually punishes them by zapping them back into their drawers with her wand.


 * Phoebe – a talking telephone. Early in the series, Phoebe was played

by an actor dressed in a pink costume. In the ITV series Phoebe was re-introduced as a 'life-sized' model telephone, pink with a yellow headset, but later on, she's orange while her headset turns red. Phoebe answers calls, takes messages, and speaks lots of different languages.


 * Filbert – a squeaking vegetable and a fellow trainee wizard. He is

also regularly seen gardening. He loves to water the plants. He also talks in gibberish and in later series, English as the character develops.


 * Dog Doormat – a barking doormat (Only seen in the first Series for ITV)
 * Hangle – a purple coat hanger (but who insists on calling himself a cloak hanger) with a yellow rain coat, glasses and a purple moustache, with a crude sense of humour.
 * Very Old Fish – a cryptic talking male fish
 * Poot – Wizadora's computer
 * Nigel the Snail- lives with Very old fish
 * The Crows – Two crows which cause mayhem for Tatty Bogle in the garden
 * Roxy – a quite friendly talking spider (Seen in later series)
 * Dusty – A creature who lives under the fridge, he has a very loud

operatic voice and is usually sleeping (seen in the first series for ITV)

Other cast and credits
Puppeteers Phil Eason, Francis Wright, Michael Bayliss, Sue Dacre, Don Austen, Brian Herring, Neil Sterenberg, Rebecca Nagan, Debbie Cumming, and Sheila Clark worked on the series. The ITV series was made for Meridian Broadcasting by production companies Workhouse and North Pole Productions at The Fountain Studios in New Malden and directed by David Crozier. Fifteen episodes of Series 3 were directed by Wendy J. Dyer. The theme music was composed by Dave Hutton who was also the Senior Cameraman on the first four series of the show. The theme tune for the ITV series was recorded at Gordon Thrussell's studios at Ashford in Kent and the credits show music by 'Hutt and Thrust'. This was because the director, David Crozier, did not want the same name for two different credits on the programme (i.e.: Snr Cameraman and Music). The other cameramen were Roger Backhouse and Angus Macmillan and sometimes Steve Leach. The vision mixer was Julie Miller.

Jill Golick wrote several episodes for the ITV series.[citation needed]

Transmission guide
The programme ran for Seven series in total. Six for ITV. :


 * Running time Series 1: 15 minutes, Series 2 onwards 9 minutes.
 * Series 1: (Oxford) 8 editions from 15 September 1991 - 3 November 1991
 * Series 1: (ITV) 18 editions from 5 January 1993 – 4 May 1993
 * Series 2: 30 editions from 6 September 1993 – 15 December 1993
 * Series 3: 30 editions from 7 September 1994 – 15 December 1994
 * Series 4: 32 editions from 5 September 1995 – 21 December 1995
 * Series 5: 30 editions from 3 September 1996 – 19 December 1996
 * Series 6: 32 editions from 2 September 1997 – 6 January 1998

One episode of Wizadora was broadcast on CITV on Saturday, 5 January 2013 (the show's 20th anniversary) as part of a CITV anniversary special. This was the first time the show has been broadcast in the UK since it was shown on Living TV in the early 2000s.

Oxford Series (1991)

 * Phoebe Calling - 15 September 1991
 * A Red Banana - 22 September 1991
 * Happy Birthday - 29 September 1991
 * The Magic Cloak - 6 October 1991
 * Can You Fly? - 13 October 1991
 * Where Is Katie? - 20 October 1991
 * The Picnic - 27 October 1991
 * Hangle Is Lost - 3 November 1991

Series 1 (1993)

 * The Magic Parcel - 5 January 1993
 * Time For Tidying - 12 January 1993
 * Hello Filbert - 19 January 1993
 * A Colourful Day - 26 January 1993
 * Lovely Weather - 2 February 1993
 * Picnic Problems - 9 February 1993
 * The Purple Powder - 16 February 1993
 * Wellingtons & Snails - 23 February 1993
 * Tea Troubles - 2 March 1993
 * Mops & Bicycles - 9 March 1993
 * Hangle In Charge - 16 March 1993
 * A Very Special Day - 23 March 1993
 * Wellingtons and Snails - 30 March 1993
 * The Purple Powder - 6 April 1993
 * Tea Time Troubles - 13 April 1993
 * Mops and Bicycles - 20 April 1993
 * Autumn Laughter - 27 April 1993
 * Hangle In Charge - 4 May 1993

Series 2 (1993)

 * Poot Saves The Day - 6 September 1993
 * A Change for Filbert - 8 September 1993
 * Somethings Old, Somethings New - 13 September 1993
 * Five Carrot Pie - 15 September 1993
 * The Number Spell - 20 September 1993
 * "She's So Wizadorable" - 22 September 1993
 * Music Band - 27 September 1993
 * Lemonade, Ginger Beer and Rhubarb - 29 September 1993
 * Tea Troubles - 4 October 1993
 * Round and Round the Garden - 6 October 1993
 * A Super Wand - 11 October 1993
 * Thignbury Jig - 13 October 1993
 * Cheers and Tears - 18 October 1993
 * Soft Strong Brittle and Weak - 20 October 1993
 * The Squeaking Door - 25 October 1993
 * Magical Music - 27 October 1993
 * A Good Day for Sun - 1 November 1993
 * Eat Well, Stay Well - 3 November 1993
 * Easy as One, Two, Three - 8 November 1993
 * Episode 220 - 10 November 1993
 * Episode 221 - 15 November 1993
 * Episode 222 - 17 November 1993
 * Be Careful, Wizadora! - 22 November 1993
 * Episode 224 - 24 November 1993
 * Episode 225 - 29 November 1993
 * Episode 226 - 1 December 1993
 * Episode 227 - 6 December 1993
 * Episode 228 - 8 December 1993
 * Episode 229 - 13 December 1993
 * Christmas Day - 15 December 1993

Series 3 (1994)

 * A Message from Max - 7 September 1994
 * Pips and Plants - 8 September 1994
 * Sneezeberries - 14 September 1994
 * Too Big, Too Small - 15 September 1994
 * Bubble Trouble - 21 September 1994
 * A Sing Song For Stan - 22 September 1994
 * Sixies and Nines - 28 September 1994
 * All Together Now - 29 September 1994
 * I Smell a Lie - 5 October 1994
 * Pippa's Surprise - 6 October 1994
 * Cheer Up, Filbert! - 12 October 1994
 * Let's Dance! - 13 October 1994
 * The Shopping List - 19 October 1994
 * Tatty's Tablecloth - 20 October 1994
 * The Tantrum Spell - 26 October 1994
 * The Great Flood - 27 October 1994
 * Buttons and Holes - 2 November 1994
 * The Litter Spell - 3 November 1994
 * Fun With Books - 9 November 1994
 * No Time for Tea Time - 10 November 1994
 * Hard, Soft, Smooth & Rough - 16 November 1994
 * The Grabber - 17 November 1994
 * Pedal Power - 23 November 1994
 * The Mud Monster - 24 November 1994
 * Wool Trouble - 30 November 1994
 * Pots and Spells - 1 December 1994
 * That's What Friends Are For - 7 December 1994
 * A Stuck Sticky - 8 December 1994
 * Use Your Imagination - 14 December 1994
 * Beginnings and Endings - 15 December 1994

Series 4 (1995)

 * Beside the Seaside - 5 September 1995
 * Sounds Brilliant - 7 September 1995
 * Bless You! - 12 September 1995
 * You Can Count on Poot - 14 September 1995
 * Follow That Track! - 19 September 1995
 * Here's One We Made Earlier - 21 September 1995
 * Who's Afraid of the Dark? - 26 September 1995
 * Good Winners and Bad Losers - 28 September 1995
 * Communication Break Down - 3 October 1995
 * Snow in July - 5 October 1995
 * Making Pippa Strong - 10 October 1995
 * Glad Rags - 12 October 1995
 * Shape Up - 17 October 1995
 * Tatty's New Boots - 19 October 1995
 * Mirror, Mirror - 24 October 1995
 * Hangle Takes a Trip - 26 October 1995
 * Inside Out - 31 October 1995
 * Stan's the Man - 2 November 1995
 * I Spy With My Little Eye - 7 November 1995
 * Filbert's New House - 9 November 1995
 * Top of the List - 14 November 1995
 * It's a Good Job - 16 November 1995
 * Shadow Monsters - 21 November 1995
 * Boots, Beads and Beards - 23 November 1995
 * Watch Out Below - 28 November 1995
 * Sharing Magic - 30 November 1995
 * Big 'Uns and Little 'Uns - 5 December 1995
 * Sticky Moments - 7 December 1995
 * Too Full - 12 December 1995
 * Making and Breaking - 14 December 1995
 * First Things First - 19 December 1995
 * Fish Alive - 21 December 1995

Series 5 (1996)

 * Tatty Town - 10 September 1996
 * Wizadora Plays Football - 12 September 1996
 * Drawer People Behaving Badly - 17 September 1996
 * Aunt Dora's Parcel - 19 September 1996
 * Bottom Gets Lost - 24 September 1996
 * There's No Place like Home - 26 September 1996
 * The Music Spell - 1 October 1996
 * Something Fishy - 3 October 1996
 * Take Care - 8 October 1996
 * Wizadora's Bad Dream - 10 October 1996
 * Sentimental Journey - 15 October 1996
 * I'm in Charge - 17 October 1996
 * What's Yours is Mine - 22 October 1996
 * What about Me? - 24 October 1996
 * Hurry Up! - 29 October 1996
 * Jungle Fever - 31 October 1996
 * Roxy's Web - 5 November 1996
 * What Did You Say? - 7 November 1996
 * Old Habits Die Hard - 12 November 1996
 * A Moving Story - 14 November 1996
 * Safety Last - 19 November 1996
 * Stan's Difficult Day - 21 November 1996
 * Bending the Rules - 26 November 1996
 * The Crows - 28 November 1996
 * You Are What You Are - 3 December 1996
 * A Rainy Day - 5 December 1996
 * Hangle's Big Day - 10 December 1996
 * Bubble Trouble - 12 December 1996
 * Knit Twits - 17 December 1996
 * The Jealous Queen - 19 December 1996

Series 6 (1997–1998)

 * Wizadora Gives Up - 2 September 1997
 * Down Goes Top - 4 September 1997
 * Things That Go Bump In The Night - 9 September 1997
 * Stans the Man - 11 September 1997
 * Episode 605 - 16 September 1997
 * Episode 606 - 18 September 1997
 * Episode 607 - 23 September 1997
 * Episode 608 - 25 September 1997
 * Episode 609 - 30 September 1997
 * Episode 610 - 2 October 1997
 * Arty Party - 7 October 1997
 * Who Is Important? - 9 October 1997
 * Episode 613 - 14 October 1997
 * Episode 614 - 16 October 1997
 * Episode 615 - 21 October 1997
 * No Doughnuts for Breakfast - 23 October 1997
 * Good Manners - 28 October 1997
 * What About Me - 30 October 1997
 * Episode 619 - 4 November 1997
 * Episode 620 - 6 November 1997
 * Episode 621 - 11 November 1997
 * Episode 622 - 13 November 1997
 * Episode 623 - 18 November 1997
 * Episode 624 - 20 November 1997
 * Episode 625 - 25 November 1997
 * Episode 626 - 27 November 1997
 * Episode 627 - 2 December 1997
 * Episode 628 - 4 December 1997
 * Sentimental Journey - 9 December 1997
 * Wizadora Disappears - 11 December 1997
 * Wizadora's Christmas Carol Part 1–16 December 1997
 * Wizadora's Christmas Carol Part 2: Goodbye Wizadora–18 December 1997