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The Best of the Worst WitchDVD contains seven episodes of CITV's hugely popular Worst Witchseries. Based Jill Murphy's internationally bestselling books that are said to have been an inspiration to JK Rowling and the Harry Potterbooks, the 25-minute episodes chronicle the hilarious adventures of would-be witch Mildred Hubble. Aimed at 5-11 year olds, the DVD starts with Mildred's first day at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, a secondary boarding school which emphasises discipline and traditional values but which also teaches young girls how to ride broomsticks, chant and cast spells. Mildred gets off to a flying start when arriving late on her broomstick: she crashes into the school bins!

The strong storylines (taken from three series) mainly focus on whether Mildred will make the grade as a bona fide witch, and her continuing rivalry with snooty Ethel Hallow. Whether Mildred is turning Ethel into a pig or being transformed into a frog, pre-teenagers will relate to the heroine, learning from her the importance of determination, imagination and friends. There are admirable performances from Georgina Sherrington (winner of Hollywood's "Young Artist Award") as Mildred, Kate Duchêne as the stern Miss Hardbroom, Claire Coulter as the kindly Headmistress and the renowned Una Stubbs as the eccentric Miss Bat who spends school holidays in the cupboard! The stories are not scary and the special effects are used sparingly but with good results--particularly spectacular is the image at the start of each episode of students arriving for school on broomsticks.

Entertaining, amusing and captivating, it's a real treat for pre-teenagers. --Tracey Hogan.