1970, Television: “Catweazle”

On 15 February 1970 the British children's television series "Catweazle" premieres on ITV. The series produced by "London Weekend Television" was created by Richard Carpenter. Two series with each thirteen episodes were produced. Main actors for the first series, directed by Quentin Lawrence (15/02/1970 – 10/05/1970), were Geoffrey Bayldon, Robin Davies, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell and Neil McCarthy. The second series (10/01/1971 – 04/04/1971) was directed by David Reid and David Lane with main cast Geoffrey Bayldon, Gary Warren, Moray Watson and Elspet Gray.

"Catweazle" was broadcast in Ireland, the UK, Gibraltar, New Zealand, Holland, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czechoslovakia, Nicaragua and Canada.

Geoffrey Bayldon as Catweazle

Synopsis

Catweazle (Geoffrey Bayldon), an eccentric 11th century wizard, accidentally travels with his pet toad Touchwood through time to the year 1969 after casting the wrong spell. He befriends Edward Bennett (Robin Davies), a young red-headed boy nicknamed 'Carrot'. Edward tries the entire series to hide Catweazle from his father Mr. Bennett (Charles 'Bud' Tingwell). In the meantime, Catweazle tries to find a way to return to his own time. Frequently Catweazle mistakes modern technology for powerful magic, for example 'elec-trickery' (electricity) and the 'telling bone' (telephone).

Geoffrey Bayldon as Catweazle and

Robin Davies as Edward 'Carrot' Bennet

Awards

• Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for Best Children's TV Drama Script (1971).

Geoffrey Bayldon as Catweazle and
Gary Warren as Cedric 'Owlface' Collingford

Elspet Gray as Lady Collingford, Gary Warren as Cedric 'Owlface' Collingford
and Moray Watson as Lord Collingford

Main cast

• Geoffrey Bayldon as Catweazle
• Robin Davies as Edward Bennet (aka 'Carrot') (series 1)
• Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Mr. Bennet (series 1)
• Neil McCarthy as Sam Woodyard (series 1)
• Gary Warren as Cedric Collingford (aka 'Owlface') (series 2)
• Moray Watson as Lord Collingford (series 2)
• Elspet Gray as Lady Collingford (series 2)
• Peter Butterworth as Groome (series 2)
• Gwen Nelson as Mrs. Gowdie (series2) 

Catweazle Intro (1970)