List of minor ''The Worst Witch'' characters
This is a list of minor characters who have roles in the children's book series The Worst Witch, or its television adaptations.
Students
Griselda Blackwood
Appearances in the books: A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch (briefly)
Griselda Blackwood makes her first (and only) appearance in the third book of the series where she is kidnapped by Mildred Hubble so Mildred can take her place at the Halloween celebrations.
Her role in the TV series is greatly increased, along with that of her friend, Fenella Feverfew. Griselda is played by Poppy Gaye.
Ruby Cherrytree
1998 TV series only
Ruby, along with Jadu Wali, is a TV-only character who doesn't appear in the books. Ruby is depicted as a tall black girl with frizzy hair worn in pigtails and an inventive personality. Ruby is like the mad scientist of the group. She invents a number of whacky inventions that almost always go wrong. She is very loyal to her friends and keen to learn at Cackle's Academy. Like Jadu, she is often dragged along on whatever crazy crusade Mildred and co. are going on, though there are times when she and Jadu are absent (in the episode "The Inspector Calls" she and Jadu are completely absent when Mildred, Maud and Enid are trying to stop Mistress Hecketty Broomhead from closing the academy down and the two have only minor roles in the episode "Power Drill" when Mildred, Maud and Enid are trying to give Miss Drill magic powers). Ruby was portrayed by Joanna Dyce.
Clarice Crow
Appearances in the books: A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch (briefly)
Clarice Crow is Drusilla Paddock's half-sister and Sybil Hallow's best (and presumably only) friend. Clarice is described as having brilliant orange frizzy bunches. Clarice is very loyal to Sybil and is always there to comfort her when she is upset, like in the episode "The Millennium Bug" she comforts and manages to persuade Sybil to continue playing the clarinet after Griselda Blackwood and Fenella Feverfew mocked the way she played it. Clarice's surname is not revealed in the books, but the TV series gives her surname as "Crow". In the episode "The Lost Chord" Clarice is the one who saves the school from the fake musician who tries to rob the school of its valuables. Clarice was played by Georgia Isla Graham.
Dawn, Gloria and Harriet
Appearances in the books: The Worst Witch
Dawn and Gloria are two other students at Cackle'a Academy in the same year as Mildred. The two make only a brief appearance at the end of the first book when they go into Mildred's room with Maud Moonshine to tell Mildred the good news about the school being given a holiday after Mildred saved them from Agatha Cackle. Harriet makes no appearance but it is mentioned by Maud that she was the one whom Ethel had told about her plot to sabotage Mildred's role in the broomstick display, Harriet subsequently telling everyone else in Form One. In the TV series, Dawn Raven, Hariett Goodcharm and Gloria Newt are new in the TV series and the new students were Bryony Besomsworth and Tansy Weirdstone.
Fenella Feverfew
Appearances in the books: NONE (but mentioned several times in The Worst Witch All at Sea)
Fenella Feverfew is an unseen character in the book series. She is mentioned several times in the fourth book The Worst Witch All at Sea where she transfers to Miss Pentangle's Academy and leaves behind her black cat Ebony (since they have owls at Miss Pentangle's Academy).
She appears frequently throughout the TV series where she is a year above Mildred and co. and is friends with Griselda Blackwood. In the TV series, Fenella was portrayed by Julia Malewski in the first and second series and Emily Stride in the third series.
Family:Griselda Blackwood (Cousin)
Sybil Hallow
Appearances in the books: A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch (briefly)
Sybil Hallow is the bumbling but well-meaning younger sister of the vindictive and stuck-up Ethel Hallow. She is shown to be a lot kinder than Ethel, doing anything to impress Mildred and trying to make Mildred her friend, such as attempting to rescue Mildred's bats after they were mistakenly assumed to have been locked in a chest.
In the TV series episode "The Millennium Bug" it is revealed that Sybil plays the clarinet. When telling Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood about how much she wants Mildred as a friend, she states, "I just want a sister. Not a bossy-boots like Ethel.", perhaps indicating that she completely dislikes Ethel and her attitude.
Family: Ethel Hallow (sister), Mona Hallow (sister)
Drusilla Paddock
Appearances in the books:
The Worst Witch All at Sea (briefly)
Drusilla Paddock is the older half-sister of Clarice crow and makes her first appearance in The Worst Witch All at Sea. She claims a bed that Enid Nightshade offered to Mildred that looked like a hospital trolley. She has a much bigger role in the sixth book The Worst Witch to the Rescue where she hides Mildred's talking pet tortoise up a tree to prevent him from revealing the truth about Ethel's project.
Drusilla's role in the television series is greatly increased, where she is Ethel's bumbling sidekick and ally rather than a minor character. Drusilla was played by Holly Rivers.
Family: Clarice Crow(Half sister)
Jadu Wali
1998 TV series only
Like her friend, Ruby Cherrytree, Jadu isn't in any of the books, but was introduced in the TV series to be part of Mildred's circle of friends. She is of Asian ethnicity. She is keen to learn and is loyal to her friends and shows mature behaviour (until the episode "The Unfairground" where she and Mildred rebel against the rules with The Fairground newspapers). She is performed by Harshna Brahmbhatt. Jadu appears in every episode of The Worst Witch apart from "The Inspector Calls", "The Genius of the Lamp" and "The Lost Chord".
Staff
Miss Bat
Appearances in the books:
Miss Bat is first introduced in the second book, The Worst Witch Strikes Again. She is described as being tiny and olf with a conductor's baton behind her ear and having grey frizzy hair worn in a plait twisted round the back of her head and having three chins as a result of her habit of pressing her jawbone onto her chest.
In the TV series, her name is given as Davina Bat and her personality is changed from strict to loopy and eccentric. She keeps the baton behind her ear but her hair is mousy-brown rather than grey and the plait twisted round her head is changed to a bun. In the TV series, Miss Bat has a habit of locking herself in the staffroom cupboard when she is angry. She is played by Una Stubbs. After the first and second series, Stubbs left so a new chanting teacher, Miss Lavinia Crotchet, (played by Polly James) filled her shoes for the third series. The excuse for the change of chanting teachers is that Miss Bat left to go to Mongolia to enjoy Mongolian music (it is mentioned in the first episode of the second series "Old Hats and New Brooms" that Miss Bat likes Mongolian music and even went there for a holiday, bringing back a bottle of inedible yak's milk.
Miss Drill
Appearances in the books:
A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch
Miss Drill is the gym-mistress at Cackle's Academy. She is only a minor character in the books but is given a major role in the TV series, where she is played by Claire Porter. In the TV series her name is given as Imogen Drill and is notable as the only member of staff who is non-magical. In the episode "Power Drill" Mildred, Maud, and Enid feel sorry for Miss Drill and give her temporary magical powers, which, unfortunately become more permanent than they intended, resulting in Miss Drill becoming an actual witch and being more strict than usual. She also renames herself "Hillary Hemlock" (it seems that witches can change their names if they want to, as it is revealed in the episode "The Inspector Calls" that Mistress Hecketty Broomhead's real name is "Whilhelmina Wormwood").
Miss Gimlett
Appearances in the books: NONE (mentioned in A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch)
Miss Gimlett never actually appears in neither any of the books or the TV series. She is mentioned at the beginning of A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch, where she is supposed to be the form-mistress of the second-years but she is replaced by Miss Hardbroom.
Miss Gribble
Appearances in the books: NONE (mentioned in The Worst Witch Saves the Day)
Miss Gribble is mentioned briefly in the fifth book of the series, The Worst Witch Saves the Day, where it is mentioned that she left after only one term after failing to maintain discipline with pupils.
The TV episode "Learning the Hard Way" centres on Miss Gabrielle Gribble, in which she is introduced as a student teacher from Weirdsister College. She is revealed to be Miss Cackle's niece (confirmed when she refers to Miss Cackle as "Auntie Amelia"). In "Learning the Hard Way", Miss Gribble takes over teaching the potions lessons from Miss Hardbroom but she is not very nice and the girls begin to tease her (calling her "Gabby Dribble" and leaving green goo in her desk and pretending to be allergic to chalk dust, as well as Enid Nightshade turning herself blue and pretending to turn into completely inanimate trees). However, Mildred takes pity on her after finding out that Miss Gribble had always wanted to be a teacher and that she flunked at Miss Pentangle's Academy after turning Miss Pentangle into a tadpole. To make up for it, Mildred and co. stay up all night doing a potions lesson with her and they successfully manage to impress Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom, so Miss Gribble finally gets a high chance of becoming a teacher. As a leaving gift, the girls give Miss Gribble a chair from the staff room and her own mug to which Miss Gribble jokily responds, "My own mug as well. I hope it doesn't dribble!". Miss Gribble is not seen again, suggesting that she returns to Weirdsister College. Miss Gribble was played by Rebecca Clarke.
Miss Mould
Appearances in the books: The Worst Witch to the Rescue
Miss Mould is an art teacher who is friendlier than Miss Hardbroom. She uses a lot of flowery language and can be quite melodramatic, telling the girls to "be one with the clay" and "get it under your fingernails". Miss Mould is also a very responsible and protective teacher, as seen when Mildred's pot turns into five rattlesnakes (later revealed to have been done by Ethel Hallow) when she springs into action and manages to get all of the girls out of the classroom.
Miss Pentangle
Appearances in the books: NONE (mentioned in The Worst Witch All at Sea and in The Worst Witch Saves the Day)
Miss Pentangle is the headmistress of Miss Pentangle's Academy for Witches, a fellow witch academy several mountaintops away from Cackle's Academy. In The Worst Witch All at Sea, the unseen character Fenella Feverfew transfers there and leaves behind her regulation black cat since they have owls at Miss Pentangle's, although in The Worst Witch Saves The Day, Mildred reveals that the head girl there has a ragdoll cat, suggesting that the senior students can choose which animal they want. Mildred also describes Pentangle's Academy as being more up-to-date than Cackle's, and the students wear purple uniforms instead of black. In The Worst Witch Saves the Day, it is revealed that Miss Hardbroom is good friends with Miss Pentangle.
In the TV series, Miss Pentangle actually appears on screen in the episode "The Witchy Hour" where her name is given as Phyllis Pentangle. It is revealed by Miss Cackle in the next episode "Learning the Hard Way" that she was turned into a tadpole once by Miss Gabrielle Gribble. Miss Pentangle was portrayed by Charmian May. In The New Worst Witch, Miss Pentangle was portrayed by Meryl Hampton and Lizzy McInnerny.
Miss Tapioca
Appearances in the books: The Worst Witch All at Sea
Miss Tapioca is the head cook of the kitchens at Cackle's Academy. She is kindly to Mildred, especially when Mildred trades Tabby with Ebony, a normal black cat. Miss Tapioca is actually named after the pudding dessert, tapioca.
In the TV series, Miss Tapioca was renamed as Mrs Tapioca, even though she doesn't appear to have a husband and is depicted as an Italian, even to the point of cooking pizza behind Miss Cackle's back. She was portrayed by Annette Badland.
Other characters
Agatha Cackle
Appearances in the books:
The Worst Witch Saves the Day (as Miss Granite)
Agatha Cackle is Miss Cackle's rebellious identical twin sister. She first appears in the first book where Mildred spots her and her warlike coven plotting to turn the whole academy into frogs, only to be discovered by Mildred as they were preparing their spells the day of their attack; they had planned to attack after the Halloween display, when the school normally slept in until noon, but Mildred was running away from the school in a panic after she unintentionally caused an accident during a broomstick display. Lacking any other ideas or time to stop them, Mildred turned Agatha and the coven into snails and puts them in the boxes meant for the frog-pupils and frog-teachers, subsequently taking them up to the academy to show to Miss Cackle. Having convinced her teachers of her honesty, Mildred was absolved of any punishment for the broomstick incident, Agatha and her coven being turned back into humans only after conceding that they had been defeated according to the Witches' Code. Agatha reappears in the fifth book The Worst Witch Saves the Day where she comes into the school disguised as a new teacher Miss Granite with a high-pitched squeaky voice and a large mop of ginger curls and a frivolous appearance. She is later found out by Mildred when Mildred comes to collect Tabby from her. Luckily, Mildred and co. turn Agatha and her coven into snails themselves.
In the TV series, to tell Agatha and Miss Cackle apart, Agatha was depicted as wearing large, round glasses that greatly magnify her eyes (similar to Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). In the TV series, Agatha was portrayed by Clare Coulter, the same actress who played Miss Cackle.
Family: Amelia Cackle (identical twin sister)
Egbert Hellibore
Appearances in the books:
A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch
Mr Egbert Hellibore is the Grand Wizard. He appears at the Halloween celebrations in the first book. He later appears again in the third book at the Halloween celebrations where he bans Mildred Hubble and Ethel Hallow from attending the celebrations for causing the havoc the previous year. He is also revealed to be friends with Algernon Rowan-Webb and also one of his fellow magicians from the days when Cackle's Academy was used for meeting places for magicians and wizards.
In the TV series, Egbert Hellibore was portrayed by Terrence Hardiman. He is often referred to as "Helliboring" in the TV series.
Algernon Rowan-Webb
Appearances in the books:
A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch
Algernon Rowan-Webb is the frog-magician whom Mildred met when she was briefly turned into a frog by Ethel. Escaping to the school pond after an incident in a potions class, Mildred talked to the frog and learned of his true identity, having been turned into a frog in an argument with another wizard years ago and subsequently forced to remain in the pond as only a wizard could take the spell off. Unable to convince her friends that she is telling the truth about the frog- Mildred having previously told a story that the frog was a student who was cursed by Ms. Hardbroom, Mildred was forced to sneak into the school's presentation to the local wizards (Having been banned after the accident that occurred at the last presentation) by kidnapping one of the third years so that she could take Rowan-Webb to Mr Hellibore to turn him back to normal. In the next book, The Worst Witch All at Sea, he invites Mildred and the other girls in her year and Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle to stay at his castle at Grim Cove as thanks for Mildred saving him, treating her with great warmth for her role in saving him, informing her once that he has never had a truer friend.
In the 1998 TV series, Algernon Rowan-Webb was played by Paul Copley, and his role is basically the same as in the novels.
In the 2017 TV series, Algernon Rowan-Webb is portrayed by Philip Martin Brown, debuting as a frog in the pilot episode, where he indirectly helps Mildred recreate a levitation spell to warn the other students about Agatha Cackle's attempted coup of the school. His status as a human is exposed in the fifth episode "Pond Life", which reveals that he was actually the first wizard to teach at Cackle's, and had a romantic relationship with Miss Bat, but was turned into a frog by spell science teacher Miss Gullet so that she could take the job herself. Once returned to human form, he becomes the spell science teacher himself, although he retains an elongated tongue for use in catching flies.
Animals
Cyril
Appearances in the books: The Worst Witch to the Rescue
Cyril is the toad whom Ethel Hallow uses her stolen animal-speaking spell on. However, Cyril is actually on Mildred's side and, as soon as Drusilla Paddock hides Einstein in the hollow pine tree, hops off to Mildred's room to tell her what had happened to Einstein. When on the rescue mission to save Einstein, Mildred sets Cyril free outside the school gates. He is not seen again after that.
Einstein/Speedy
Appearances in the books: The Worst Witch to the Rescue
Speedy is Mildred's pet tortoise and one of the animals she tried her animal-speaking spell on. After saying he dislikes the ironic name "Speedy" Mildred renames him "Einstein". It is him whom Drusilla Paddock hides up the tree, until Cyril the toad tells Mildred where he is and she retrieves him. It is he who tells Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom the truth about Ethel knocking Mildred's bag out of the tree, turning her pot into snakes, and stealing her project and passing it off as her own.