Mackenzie Crook, who previously wrote and starred in Detectorists, will now lead the charge on both sides of the camera in two Worzel Gummidge stories for the BBC. Here’s everything you need to know…

The Beeb’s official press describes the project, which Crook will write and direct as well as starring in, as a “dazzling, modern adaptation of Worzel Gummidge” that’s very much “inspired by the classic books of Barbara Euphan Todd.”

There will be two 60-minute episodes. The first one, entitled The Scarecrow Of Scatterbrook, “sees two young strangers arrive in the village of Scatterbrook. It’s not long before Susan and John encounter Worzel Gummidge, the Scarecrow of Ten Acre Field. Their world is sent spinning into confusion when they realise Gummidge comes to life. The only person more shocked is Worzel, when he discovers that the children are not in fact fellow scarecrows but humans. Their worlds should never commune but fate has conspired to create an extraordinary union. The seasons have stopped and the harvest hasn’t arrived. The rhythm of the natural world is out of kilter and this unlikely trio must try to put it right. Magic, mystery and mayhem unfurl.”

The second episode is called The Green Man, and it “welcomes another mysterious arrival to Scatterbrook. The Green Man is the creator of scarecrows and keeper of scarecrow lore. He isn’t at all happy that Worzel is consorting with humans. Elsewhere, local aristocrat Lady Bloomsbury Barton is holding a fete, with a Scarecrow competition that Worzel is determined to win. What will Worzel’s most competitive rival, Soggy Bogart, and The Green Man make of it all?”

Crook said this about the project: “I’m thrilled to be back working with the BBC and many members of the Detectorists team to bring Worzel Gummidge to a new generation of viewers and reintroduce him to old friends. Adapting Barbara Euphan Todd’s books into these two films has been a joy and I’ve completely fallen for her charming, irreverent scarecrow. Fingers crossed for a glorious English summer as we head out to Scatterbrook Farm and Worzel’s Ten Acre Field.”

We don’t have a release date or a trailer or a full cast yet, but we’ll keep you posted as more news comes to light.