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The Wind in the Willows — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Cast and characters

Main characters

Toad (David Jason) – The wealthy owner of Toad Hall, the finest home in the county. Though arrogant, selfish, and ignorant, he is nonetheless charismatic, good-humoured, and cares for his friends dearly. He always throws himself into all kinds of new crazes, without much consideration. His main catchphrase is "It's the only thing!" He often gets himself in trouble, resulting in his friends saving him. Many episodes conclude with his friends chorusing "Oh, Toad!" in despair at his constant qualms and ineptitude. Toad is also accident-prone which is evident in certain episodes such as in "Mercury of the Motorbicycle", where he crashes his motor car at the start and his newly acquired motorcycle at the end.

Mole (Richard Pearson) – Shy, gentle and honest, Mole lives in a modest home underground called Mole End. He tends to be more indulgent of Toad's bragging and ever-changing interests.

Rat (Peter Sallis) – Dear friend to Mole. A friendly and strait-laced everyman with a love of poetry and music, and a great passion for the river by which he lives. He and Mole live at each other's homes for extended periods during the series.

Badger (Michael Hordern) – The father figure of the group. Respected by all for his intelligence and courage. He was a friend of Toad's late father and enjoys chess and canvas painting. Serious-minded and mature, but with a strong sense of justice, he always tries to keep Toad out of trouble. He is shown to play the violin in the episode "A Producer's Lot"

Chief Weasel (David Jason) – The villainous leader of the Weasels, the bullies and thieves of the Wild Wood. He often tries to trick Toad out of his wealth. However, he is not all bad, and at times will selflessly come to the aid of other animals in need – examples including Mole in "Badger's Remedy"; Otter's son Portly in "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" and a lost shrew, Ernest, in "The Rescue". In two episodes, his name is revealed to be Bill.

Henchman Weasel (Brian Trueman) – the Chief's somewhat dim-witted second-in-command; known for his catchphrase, "Very nice; very nice!". Despite the Chief's abusive nature towards him, he remains loyal to his boss. In "The Rescue", his name is revealed to be Bert.

Recurring characters

Otter (Brian Southwood) – One of the inhabitants of the River Bank and an old friend of Rat.

Portly (Brian Southwood) – Otter's son.

Billy Rabbit (David Jason) – "Billy" is present in all series. He first appears as an unnamed character the Series 1 episode "The Grand Annual Show", but becomes more of a recurring character from Series 3 onwards. He is not to be confused with Billy the Fieldmouse, who appears on and off in the series. Both appear together in a number of episodes.

Alfred (Allan Bardsley) – Toad's sarcastic and stubborn but well-meaning horse who always refuses to do what Toad wants to do. He briefly appeared in the film with a singing role and then made on and off appearances in the series. His catchphrases are "Nope" and "Ar".

Auberon Mole (Howard Lloyd Lewis) – Mole's cousin. In the series, is a well-known playwright, and the focus of the episodes "Mole's Cousin", "Auberon's Return" and "Happy New Year".

Mrs. Carrington-Moss (Beryl Reid) – The magistrate in the film. She appears in the episodes, "The Grand Annual Show", "Buried Treasure", and "Burglary at Toad Hall".

Reggie and Rosemary – The owners of the stolen motor car in the film. They appear in the episodes, "The Grand Annual Show", and "Burglary at Toad Hall".

Thomas (Jimmy Hibbert) – Auberon's chauffeur and personal assistant, who is also a toad. He appears in the episodes "Mole's Cousin" and "Happy New Year".

VHS/DVD (Region 2)

VHS – Video Collection International Ltd./DVD – PT Video Ltd.

The film (1983) (VHS – 28 April 1986 and 11 October 1993 re-release and DVD 2000)

Winter (DVD) / Winter Tales (VHS – 3 November 1986 & 17 October 1994) – The Yuletide Entertainment (Cut version on the DVD), Winter Sports, The Rescue (Cut version on the VHS).

Summer (DVD) / Summer Escapades (VHS – 5 October 1987 & 1 September 1997) – Toad: Photographer, The Great Golfing Gamble, Grand Annual Show

Spring (DVD) / Spring Follies (VHS – 4 April 1988 & 6 March 1995) – The Great Steamer, Paperchase (The Lost River in newer VHS 1995), May Day

Autumn (DVD) / Autumn Antics (VHS – 7 November 1988 & 18 September 1995) – Harvest, Monster of the Wild Wood, Remember, Remember

A Tale of Two Toads (1989) (VHS – 2 October 1989 & 7 March 1994 re-release and DVD 2008)

The Four Seasons – A 2 VHS boxset (31 August 1998), containing one episode each from the original four season based Videos (see below) – May Day, Grand Annual Show, Harvest and Winter Sports.

VHS

All VHS titles released by Video Collection International Ltd.

Masquerade (VHS – 1987) – A Producer's Lot, Winter Haunts, Fancy Dress.

The Enthusiastic Mr Toad/Oh Toad! (Double Pack VHS – 5 October 1987)

The Enthusiastic Mr Toad – Mercury of the Motorbicycle, Mr Toad's Telephone, Toad, Astronomer.

Oh Toad! – Caught in a Maze, Masterchef, Champion of the Green Baize.

Sample VHS tape (7 November 1988) that includes School Days and Hot Air

The Further Adventures of Mr Toad (VHS – 24 April 1989) – The Further Adventures of Mr Toad, Patient Toad (The Storm in one with a different picture on its VHS cover), Fire at Toad Hall.

Patient Toad and other stories (VHS – 1 May 1989) – Patient Toad, The Kidnapping of Toad, Badger's Remedy.

Mole's Cousin and other stories (VHS – 1 May 1989 and 6 May 1991) – Mole's Cousin, Auberon Returns, Happy New Year.

Oh! Mr Toad! (VHS – 5 February 1990) – Oarsman Toad, Midsummer Night's Disaster, The Complete Bungler.

The Wind in the Willows Bumper Special (VHS – 10 September 1990) – Mr Toad of the Times, Toad in Motion, Piano-Roll Toad, Gypsy Toad, Toad in Love.

Happy Birthday and other stories (VHS – 7 October 1991) – Happy Birthday, A Toad in Time, Film Maker.

Lord Toad and other stories (VHS – 6 April 1992) – Lord Toad, Hall for Sale, Toad's Harvest.

The Labyrinth and other stories (VHS – 1 June 1992) – The Labyrinth, Bankruptcy, Unlikely Allies.

My Bumper The Wind In The Willows: Fun & Games (VHS – 5 May 1997) – Mercury of the Motorbicycle, Champion of the Green Baize, The Tournament, Hot Air, Fighting Fit.

VHS Compilations

Children's Favourites – Volume 1 (1 February 1988) – Wayfarers All. (Compilation VHS with Danger Mouse and Alias the Jester)

Lollipop Children's Favourites Vol. 1 (1 May 1989) – Gadget Mad. (Compilation VHS with Count Duckula and Danger Mouse)

Lollipop Children's Favourites Vol. 2 (1 May 1989) – The Ghost at Mole End. (Compilation VHS with Count Duckula and Danger Mouse)

More Children's Summer Stories (5 June 1989) – The Tournament. (Compilation VHS with Count Duckula and Danger Mouse)

More Children's Holiday Favourites (4 June 1990) – Fighting Fit. (Compilation VHS with Count Duckula and Danger Mouse)

The Christmas Collection (5 October 1992) – Auld Lang Syne. (Compilation VHS with The Sooty Show and Rainbow)

DVD

In 2003, Time Life DVD released a set of six DVDs with four digitally re-mastered episodes on each disc containing various episodes from Series 1 – 3; these were as follows:

1. Classic Willows Tales – 1. The Yuletide Entertainment (cut version), 2. Caught in a Maze, 3. Grand Annual Show, 4. Badger's Remedy.

2. Typical Toad – 1. Mercury of the Motor bicycle, 2. Burglary at Toad Hall, 3. Fire at Toad Hall, 4. Patient: Toad.

3. Ratty and Mole:Chums For Life – 1. The Ghost at Mole End, 2. The Great Steamer, 3. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, 4. The Storm.

4. Champion of the Willows – 1. Paper Chase, 2. The Great Golfing Gamble, 3. Champion of the Green Baize, 4. Winter Sports.

5. Those Wily Weasels – 1. The Weasels' Trap, 2. The Rescue, 3. Unlikely Allies, 4. Fancy-Dress.

6. Wise Old Badger – 1. Buried Treasure, 2. Harvest, 3. School Days, 4. A Producer's Lot.

These DVDs are now out of print:

The Four Seasons – released in May 2006

The Complete Series 1 – released on 26 March 2007

The Complete Series 2 – released on 25 June 2007

Wind In The Willows – The Complete Collection – released on 13 October 2008 (features all 65 episodes including those from Oh Mr. Toad! plus both films)

3 DVDs were made as part of a one-off Daily Mail event around the end of 2008, each containing six episodes. Two of them are similar to The Four Seasons collection.

Disc One: Six classic episodes from the 1st series – The Further Adventures of Toad, The Kidnapping of Toad, The Ghost at Mole End, Buried Treasure, Mole's Cousin, The Open Road Again.

Disc Two: Spring and Summer – The Great Steamer, The Lost River, Paper Chase, May Day, Toad: Photographer, The Great Golfing Gamble, Grand Annual Show.

Disc Three: Autumn and Winter – The Harvest, Monster of the Wild Wood, Remember, Remember, The Yuletide Entertainment, Winter Sports, The Rescue.