Look and Read - Badger Girl


	BADGER GIRL STORY DETAILS

BADGER GIRL

• Index
> Introduction
> The Plot
> Episode Listings
> Cast and Crew
> Theme Tune (download!)
> Video Clips (download!)
> Notes
> Links
> Picture Gallery
• The Making Of...

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ON TV:	Not scheduled at the moment, but it should be repeated again in 2007 - watch this space
ON VIDEO:	Not available on video or DVD, you'll have to tape it off TV yourself
> More information on the official BBC Schools Programme Guide

Introduction

Three city children go on holiday to a country farm and mess about with the wildlife, in particular a wild badger that they find in the farmyard. They stumble across a pair of crooks engaged in pony-rustling, spy on them to see what's going on, then have to come up with a way to stop it. Three grown-ups are also hanging around the moors: a wildlife photographer, a strange old hermit and the farmer's son. The kids have to decide who they can trust, and who has been helping steal the horses.
Stripey the 'superbadger' also appeared in some of the educational songs with his collection of -dg- badges, while the in-between bits featured Jane Miles, the environmentalist seen hanging about on the moors in the story, looking back through the project book Debbie made about her holiday.

EXTRA: Download the Badger Girl story book
EXTRA: The Making Of Badger Girl

The Plot
WARNING! SPOILERS! Reading this bit will give away the whole storyline and ruin your enjoyment if you haven't already seen/read it.

Debbie and Kiran are sent off by their school on a holiday to the country, where they meet another city kid already on holiday, know-it-all Norman. Debbie gets nicknamed the Badger Girl because she has a badger-like streak through her hair. Exploring on the moor they meet the Badgerman, who used to be a scientist but has dedicated himself to conservation and become a hermit living in a hut. They also meet two men, Barker and Deal, who claim to be from the RSPCA but are actually out stealing ('rustling') ponies to sell for their meat in France. Mick, the odd-job man from the farm, is helping Barker and Deal but he doesn't know they're slaughtering the ponies, and doesn't believe the kids when they tell him. The kids spy on the villains from a secret passage in a small church and call the police to catch them, but they get the wrong place and the police get bored and leave. The kids then try to stop Barker and Deal themselves and are captured, but eventually rescued by Stripey, their adopted badger, who beats up both of the (well-armed) villains.

Episode Listings

1.	Sounds in the Night
	Debbie doesn't think much of the country at the start of her farm holiday with Kiran and Norman. But an unexpected visitor in the early morning changes all that.
2.	Stripey (aka Stripey the Badger)
	Debbie has befriended Stripey the badger. But can a badger be a pet? And shouldn't the children tell Mrs Rudge about him?
3.	Running Away
	Mick has threatened to shoot the badger, so Debbie and Kiran run off with Stripey. He leads them to a mysterious wooden hut.
4.	The Badgerman
	Norman gets lost on the moor, and meets two men on the look-out for pony-rustlers.
5.	Lost on the Moor
	'More ponies stolen' reads the newspaper headline. But who are the crooks, Barker and Deal... or the Badgerman?
6.	The Secret Passage
	Mick leaves a map for the pony-rustlers in Cross Tor church. The children, from a secret passage, watch to see who will collect it.
7.	Mick's Map
	From Mick's map, the children know where the crooks are keeping the ponies. But maybe they've made a mistake and sent the police to the wrong place!
8.	Finding the Ponies
	The children try to set the ponies free, but Barker and Deal turn up too soon. Can anyone help them now?
9.	Panic on the Lake
	Mick and the Badgerman are rushing to save the ponies - so are the children. But they face real danger on the lake.
10.	Stripey the Superbadger
	Mick and the children have a go at saving the ponies, but they're no match for Barker and Deal. Who else can save them now?

Cast and Crew

Written by Assistant producer Producer	Andrew Davies Roger Fry Susan Paton
Badger consultant Ruth Murray, graphic designer Evelyn Small, video effects Nick Moore, songs Jonathan Gibbs, Roger Limb, incidental music Peter Howell, lyrics Gordon Snell, studio lighting Mike Chislett, Nigel Wright, Teddy Williams, studio sound Jim Cadman, John Wilson, costume designer Catriona Tomalin, make-up designer Daphne Croker, film cameraman Andrew Dunn, film recordist Keith Rodgerson, film editor Dick Allen, assistant floor manager Alison Selby, production manager Ken Robertson, designers Stephen Brownsey, Tony Thorpe, reading consultant and teaching script Mary Hoffman, production assistant Karen Lewis

Narrator Starring	Gary Watson Margo Gunn as Jane Miles John Hollis as Mr Barker Ashiek Madhvani as Kiran Singh James Marston as Mr Deal June Marlow as Mrs Rudge Julia Millbank as Debbie West Nick Orchard as Mick Rudge Kieron O'Shea as Norman Bolt William Squire as Sam North, the Badgerman Charles Collingwood as Wordy Katie Hebb as Wordy puppeteer Mary Hoffman as puppeteer and Mary as Stripey
For details of who was in which episode, see the table below.

Theme Tune

The Badger Girl theme tune, as sung by Derek Griffiths.

Leave the town behind,
The traffic
In the street.
On the moor you'll find
There's grass
Beneath your feet.

Ponies running wild,
Badgers livin' free.
Come on,
City child,
There's always something new
For you to see...

music by Peter Howell, sung by Derek Griffiths
MP3 file: 54 seconds, 430 kb

> CLICK HERE for the Downloads section, including this and several other theme tunes.

Video Clips

©BBC

• Clip 1 - Debbie misses the city
Kiran and Debbie begin their holiday. Kiran appreciates the beauty and solitude of the open country. Debbie is worried because she can't find a chip shop. "No chip shops, no Space Invaders, nothing!"

	Download WMV file 42 seconds @ 30kbps = 158kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 42 seconds @ 34kbps = 183kb

• Clip 2 - Debbie becomes Badger Girl
Debbie and Kiran are picked up by Mrs Rudge and her son Mick, at whose farm they're going to stay. Mick gives Debbie the nickname for which this story is named. "A badger with bubblegum - whatever next?"

	Download WMV file 36 seconds @ 30kbps = 137kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 36 seconds @ 34kbps = 157kb

• Clip 3 - Norman knows what's what
Norman has already begun his holiday at the farm, and he knows everything there is to know about the countryside. Kiran and Debbie seem more interested in making fun of the little ponce. "These are called goats."

	Download WMV file 54 seconds @ 30kbps = 206kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 54 seconds @ 34kbps = 236kb

• Clip 4 - Stripey beats up Mr Barker
Evil pony rustlers Mr Barker and Mr Deal are holding Debbie, Norman and Mick captive when Stripey the badger turns up. The cute little badger attacks and mauls the villains, until Barker is writhing around on the ground and Deal runs off in fright. "I'll just knock him on the head."

	Download WMV file 57 seconds @ 30kbps = 213kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 57 seconds @ 34kbps = 245kb

> CLICK HERE for more video clips from Look And Read stories.

Notes

Download an extract from the cassette, with Gary Watson reading the story book (MP3 file)
98 seconds @ 32kbps mono = 384kb

"One of the most popular of primary series, Look and Read, introduced a new story ... set on Dartmoor with an environmental and conservationist interest." - BBC Annual Report 1986

Here is a list of all of the broadcasts of this story on the BBC. Unless your teachers managed to get the video recorder to work, this is when you would have seen it in school. See the Air Dates section for precise dates and times.
Autumn 1984, BBC2
Autumn 1986, BBC2
Autumn 1988, BBC2
Autumn 1990, BBC2
Autumn 1992, BBC2
Summer 2003, CBBC
Autumn 2003, CBBC
Spring 2004, CBBC
Autumn 2004, CBBC
Autumn 2005, CBBC

This table shows who appeared in each of the individual episodes, according to the Radio Times listings:

   C A S T   D E T A I L S

starring                             EPISODES
                             ----------------------
MARGO GUNN                    1 2 3 4 5   7 8 9 10
JOHN HOLLIS                       3 4 5   7 8 9 10
ASHIEK MADHVANI               1 2 3 4 5   7 8 9 10
JAMES MARSTON                     3 4 5   7 8 9 10
JUNE MARLOW                   1 2 3 4 5
JULIA MILLBANK                1 2 3 4 5   7 8 9 10
NICK ORCHARD                  1 2 3 4 5   7   9 10
KIERON O'SHEA                 1 2 3 4 5   7 8 9 10
WILLIAM SQUIRE                      4 5   7 8 9 10
CHARLES COLLINGWOOD           1 2 3 4 5   7 8 9 10
KATIE HEBB                    1 2 3 4 5   7 8 9 10
GARY WATSON                       3 4 5   7 8 9 10

 The cast of Part Six was not published during any
 run of the story.

Links

• Tying the story into craft work, and presumably some nature study too, this junior school class have made their own badger puppets - here's all 17 of them.
www.priory-jun.notts.sch.uk/curricul/Year3/Class3/gallery/badgergirl.htm

• Just to prove that the climax of the story is slightly plausible, this BBC News story is about a badger that went on a "48-hour rampage."
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/3023369.stm

• Ian Trembirth's Look and Read site has a summary of the Badger Girl story.
www.trembirth.demon.co.uk/lookread/ (frameset)

> CLICK HERE for more general links about Look And Read and schools TV.

Picture Gallery


Kiran and Debbie had been picked to go on a country farm holiday. Norman was also staying at the farm, and he thought he knew everything about farms.	'Men! They trap badgers and dig them out of their setts, and sometimes they make their dogs fight them,' said the Badgerman grimly.	'There you are,' said Norman. 'I told you I know what's what! I bet that Badgerman is the rustler!'


On the paper was a map with two marks on it. One was a cross and the other was a star. 'Let's take it,' said Debbie.	'It's simple, Mr Deal,' said Barker. 'That's where he's bringing the ponies, and here's where we bring the big van.'	The Badgerman was waiting in another part of the moor. The two policemen with him did not look very pleased.

> See every Look & Read book cover in the Trivia section

> Get complete books, including this one, from the Downloads section

'Oh good!' said Barker. 'I've always wanted a stuffed badger. Lend me your stick, Mr Deal. I'll knock him on the head.'

The pupil's pamphlet CLICK HERE for an even bigger scan of the cover, signed by the author! [193kb]

Badger Girl resources

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