Characters / The Worst Witch - Main Characters

The Worst Witch Character Index
Main Characters | Students | Teachers | Others | The New Worst Witch

The main characters of The Worst Witch

Students

Mildred Hubble

Mildred Hubble

Portrayed by: Fairuza Balk (1986 film), Georgina Sherrington (1998 series), Bella Ramsey (2017 series, first three seasons) Lydia Page (2017 series, last season)

1998

2017

The leading character, the "worst witch in the entire school". She's known for being clumsy, unlucky and not very good at spells. Despite this, she has plenty of friends and shows some brilliance with magic when the occasion calls for it. The 1998 TV series implies that Mildred is actually from a non-witch family, explaining some of her ineptitude, while the 2017 series makes this explicit, with Mildred completely inexperienced at anything relating to magic, and characters unable to account for her possessing powers in the first place. Season 3 of the 1998 show, however, reveals that she has a rare gift of making drawings come to life. Some modern interpretations have suggested that she has dyspraxia.

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• Acrophobic Bird: She's a witch that's afraid of heights and the dark, but amusingly loves spiders.
• Adaptational Nationality: In the tele-film, she speaks with Fairuza Balk's American accent.
• Author Avatar: Her appearance is based on Jill Murphy's own appearance as a teenager. She remembers: "Mildred is based on myself when I had plaits so long that I could sit on them!"
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Is the Beauty in her trio with Maud and Enid. She's the one that gets the most love interests.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Threaten Millie's friends or the school and you will be sorry.
• Butt-Monkey: She is rather unlucky.
• Corpsing: In-universe, she's prone to bursting into fits of giggles when she really shouldn't be laughing. This gets her into trouble on several occasions.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Especially in the first book, where she goes from being humiliated in front of hundreds of people to turning an entire army of wicked witches into snails.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: She's endearingly accident-prone. Part of it comes from never remembering to tie her shoelaces properly.
• Disappeared Dad: In the 2017 series, it's revealed that Mildred's father is not around. Her mom tells Mildred the two lost touch before she found out they'd be having a baby. As a result, he isn't aware of her. It's left open that they might get into contact in the future though-her mom says they can try to find him when Mildred wants. With the fourth season, it's revealed he'd had a brief relationship with her mother while visiting Morocco, but he lost her mom's number. He meets Mildred when they cross paths.
• Dude Magnet: She gets the most love interests or admirers of any girl in the series.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • In the 1998 series, her Butt-Monkey status is established straight away; she's introduced as the only witch who's walking to Cackles and carrying her broomstick, as opposed to all the other young witches who are flying theirs. She's clearly lost in the forest and struggling to find her way...and as she climbs over a fence we get a close-up of her undone shoelaces before she loses her balance and falls on her butt.
  • In the 2017 series, we get a clear grasp on her artistic nature, her kindness and her clumsiness from the start: We see her in her apartment, where she is splitting her attention painting a watercolor of her view of Cackle's in the distance, and preparing to surprise her mother with breakfast in bed. And then when she sees witches fly by on broomsticks, she gets so startled she drops the breakfast tray on the kitchen floor, making a mess and waking her mother.
• Freudian Trio: The Ego to Enid's Id and Maud's Superego.
• Friend to All Living Things: She's known for loving animals in general - including spiders. This is mainly in the books but does come up a couple of times in the TV shows as well.
  • In the 1998 show, she "adopts" the three bats who roost in her bedroom, naming them "Winky, Blinky and Nod."
  • In the 2017 show, she is shown to be good with animals several times; Maud even comments on it.
  • When answering fan questions, Jill Murphy even predicted that as an adult, Mildred would be working at an animal shelter.
• Genius Ditz: Despite being a clumsy girl who fails a lot of her classes, she does know her stuff.
• Girlish Pigtails: Her signature look. In the spin-off, she cuts them off as part of an Important Haircut.
• Good Is Dumb: She's frequently too trusting of Ethel, especially in early episodes.
• Heroes Love Dogs: In the books, and in the 2017 series, she ends up adopting a dog which she names Star, and which she ends up allowed to keep in addition to Tabby.
• Honor Before Reason: Small mischief-making aside, Mildred will do what she thinks is right, no matter how many people point out to her how illegal and/or what a plain bad idea it is.
• Horrible Judge of Character: She's rather easily manipulated by the likes of Ethel, Drucilla and later Hobbes by being too quick to trust them.
• Important Haircut: In the first episode of Weirdsister College, she cuts off her trademark plaits after being cheated on by Nick Hobbes and Cas remarked them as being childlike.
• Inept Mage: Played with. She's horrible at classes and is always getting into trouble. But she's shown to have no problems casting spells in the 'field'.
• Kind Hearted Cat Lover: To the degree that having her poor Tabby taken off her is heartbreaking.
• Mage Born of Muggles: She's said to be from a non-witch family but has definite magical talent herself. In the 2017 show, she is revealed to be descended from the witch Melissa Hubble, who in order to save Cackle's, had to give up her magic, as well as the magic of her descendants for twelve generations. Mildred is generation thirteen, and as such was born with magic powers, long after her family had forgotten that they used to be magical.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: The Season 3 finale reveals that she has the rare gift of being able to make drawings come to life; this however is not entirely pulled out of nowhere as early on Miss Cackle remarks that despite having tested extremely poorly in her entry exams Mildred was accepted on account of her unrivaled imagination, having easily come up with a fable about a two-headed giant who argued with himself on the spot, later on during her time at Weirdsister we learn from Professor Thunderblast that this power is indeed a well-known magical art and that Mildred just happens to be highly prodigious at it, rather than something only she can do.
• Nice Girl: Mildred is kind, sympathetic and trusting (not always to her own advantage) and will readily come to the aid of others in need.
• Older and Wiser: The New Worst Witch opens with an adult Mildred, now an accomplished witch, dropping her cousin off at Cackle's Academy and giving her a few pointers.
• Plucky Girl: Despite being not good at schoolwork, she'll readily help her friends out if they need her - and she'll challenge any wicked witches that threaten the school.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: With Maud, who she is easily closest to during her time at Cackle's. Especially clear in the 2017 TV show, where a huge reason why she wants to go to Cackle's in the first place is because Maud is there.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: When she plays Cinderella in the school play.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her two love interests in college are Ben and Hobbes. The latter is a rather dark character and Millie is actually turned off by his bad boy tendencies - and ultimately chooses Ben.
• Technician Versus Performer: The Performer to Ethel's Technician. She has a big imagination and that's her biggest strength in spell casting.
• This Loser Is You: She's gangly, funny-looking, and no bloody good at anything. Even her cat, the imaginatively named Tabby, is a misfit. She got into the school on a scholarship, because Miss Cackle liked a story she wrote, just in case people were wondering how she managed to pass the entrance exam to the Academy.
• Took a Level in Badass: By the first time The New Worst Witch opens, she's no longer the Worst Witch, but the best according to her cousin.
• Trademark Favourite Food: Pizza, so naturally she's overjoyed when Cackle's allows it to be served on Saturdays.
• Unnecessary Make Over: She gives herself a radical makeover in the first episode of Weirdsister College that involves cutting off her Girlish Pigtails. The other characters make a big fuss about how much better she looks except she gave herself an extremely frumpy hairstyle that made her look like she was in her 30s. She tidied herself up a bit towards the end of the series but most fans still preferred her with pigtails.

Maud Moonshine/Spellbody

Maud Moonshine/Spellbody

Portrayed by: Emma Brown (1998 series), Meibh Campbell (2017 series, first season), Megan Hughes (2017 series, second season-onwards)

1998

2017

Mildred's best friend and partner in crime. Known for standing up for Mildred against both Ethel and even the teachers at times. It's established several times that Maud is one of the better students at Cackle's, and she frequently comes in second to Ethel. Note: her last name was not given in the books until the fourth, where she's called Maud Spellbody. But 'Moonshine', which the 1998 TV series gave her, is accepted as her Canon Name.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: Downplayed. She's got pretty much the same character traits throughout the various adaptations, though different parts of her character is emphasised in the different adaptations. She's a little brattier in the books, in the 1998 TV show, she's more soft-spoken (though she does have her moments), and in the 2017 series she's a dorky, nerdy girl with a bit of a temper.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: She's a plump girl in the books and 2017 series but played by a very cute and slender actress in the 1998 TV series.
• Alliterative Name: 1998 TV series only, as her last name in the books and the 2017 series is Spellbody.
• Beautiful All Along: A small case between Books 2 and 3. She was made to go on a diet by her parents and shows up at Cackle's notably slimmer - also with longer hair in a different style. This isn't in the TV series, as her actress is already quite cute.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Is the Brains in her trio with Mildred and Enid. She usually gets better marks than them.

• Beware the Nice Ones: While usually very gentle, she can become quite snappy when someone attacks her best friends, even daring to face Miss Hardbroom in defence of Mildred.
• Blind Without 'Em: An occasional plot point in the 2017 series.
  • In the first episode it's Maud losing her glasses while broomstick flying that causes her to crash into an unsuspecting Mildred because she can't see where she's going.
  • In the third episode, when Maud and Mildred end up swapping appearances, Maud has some problems because while she has Mildred's appearance and clothes, she still has her own poor eyesight — and since Mildred doesn't wear glasses, this means Maud can hardly see.
• Cute Witch: Particularly in the 1998 series, where she's the smallest of her friends and thus the one most likely to provoke a Moe reaction.
• Face–Heel Turn: Briefly. When Mildred has to show Enid around, she gets jealous and cuts their friendship off. She regrets it immediately and hates hanging around with Ethel. But she doesn't make things up with Millie until the end of term, when she saves her and Enid from getting into trouble.
• Friendship Moment:
  • In the pilot of the 1998 series, she is the first to run over to help Mildred when she crashes into the bins. Even when Miss Hardbroom orders the other girls back into line, Maud continues helping Mildred. She also checks in on her later. At the end of the episode, she stands up to the teachers when they try to fail Mildred for being nervous.
  • In the pilot of the 2017 series, she has a platonic Meet Cute with Mildred while trying to get to Cackle's, and afterwards she stands firmly by her, doing her utmost to get Mildred to be allowed to attend Cackle's too, defending her against Ethel and standing up for her in front of Miss Hardbroom. She passes it off as a Because You Were Nice to Me thing, but she really goes above and beyond everything to help Mildred throughout.
• Freudian Trio: The Superego to Mildred's Ego and Enid's Id.
• Girlish Pigtails: A variation to Mildred's. In Book 3 she has them like Millie's as part of a Beautiful All Along moment.
• Green-Eyed Monster: She does seem to get a bit jealous whenever Mildred shows interest in a boy or spends too much time with someone else. She also gets very jealous when Mildred's art project turns out to be better than hers.
• Heavy Sleeper: In the books, she is a very deep sleeper (in contrast to Mildred), and it is also shown that she snores loudly.
• Nice Girl: Despite her Green-Eyed Monster moments, Maud is kind-hearted, friendly and extremely loyal to her friends.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: With Mildred. It's present in every incarnation, but especially in the 2017 series. The business with Enid reads more like a Friend Versus Lover plot.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Downplayed, as her intelligence usually isn't thrown out there. But she is a very bright young witch, frequently comes in second place to Ethel, and she is chosen for a masterclass with the Grand Wizard when Ethel isn't allowed to go. In the 2017 series she even becomes Head of her year due to coming in top at the entrance exam (or as Miss Hardbroom puts it, she was "the least worst").
• Trademark Favourite Food: Chocolate, and she wistfully describes a cafe where her father took her on weekends.

Enid Nightshade

Enid Nightshade

Portrayed by: Jessica Fox (1998 series) Tamara Smart (2017 series)

1998

2017

A new student who joins Cackle's in the summer term of Mildred's first year. She appears shy and withdrawn but when Mildred is tasked with showing her around - she sees how mischievous Enid actually is. As such, she frequently lands Mildred and friends in trouble. Makes one rather sad appearance in Weirdsister College.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: In the books she's described as having hair the colour of milky tea. In the 1998 series she's a brunette, and in the 2017 series her hair is black.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Is the Brawn in her trio with Maud and Mildred, due to her prankster nature and disregard for the rules.
• Characterisation Marches On: Her mischievous ways disappear after the second book. But in the TV series they remain.
• Class Clown: She loves to joke around and make people laugh; she also knows a lot of spells that are used mostly for pranking others.
• Deadpan Snarker: She'll usually have a sarcastic comment or two.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: In the 2017 series, she insists that "Trouble" is her middle name... before confessing to Maud and Mildred that actually it's "Elvira."
• Fearless Fool: Enid has no fear or respect for anything, and will leap in where angels fear to tread without a single moments' hesitation. It does lead her (and Mildred) into a lot of trouble, but she also has a lot of fun.
• Freudian Trio: The Id to Mildred's Ego and Maud's Superego.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Occasionally slips into this, as her desire to break the rules irritates the others.
• Growing Up Sucks: In Weirdsister College it's revealed she got thrown out of her last college for partying too much. She and Mildred realise that they've grown apart and Mildred has to give up her friendship with Enid as part of a spell — though they both take some comfort in the fact that there's nothing that stops them from starting a new friendship later on.
• Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Has become one in Weirdsister College, though the "hard drinking" part is hinted at more than stated.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Done on purpose during Miss Bat's class. She deliberately sings out of tune, reducing Mildred to hysterical laughter.
• Huge Schoolgirl: The narration says that although Enid isn't fat, there seems to be rather a lot of her. This is just the books, as both the actresses who play her in the two TV series are quite petite.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: In the 2017 series, she's been expelled from seventeen witch schools for causing trouble, and is all set to cause so much trouble that she'll get thrown out of Cackle's as well. What makes her change her mind is the friendships that grows between her and Mildred, and eventually Maud; the prospect of actually having friends at school is enough to make her tone down her behavior so she'll get to stay.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The 'jerk' aspect comes out more in her early days, where she comes across as rather self-centered and inconsiderate and continuously causes trouble that Mildred gets blamed for. However, she does actually apologise for getting Mildred in trouble - even if she continues to obliviously do so afterwards - and at the end of the day, she is a loyal and caring friend.
• Karma Houdini: Never actually gets caught for all the trouble she put Mildred through. Also in "Alarms and Diversions" she's not in trouble for casting the whirlwind - probably because it was Ethel who magnified it and put the school in danger.
• Like Parent, Like Child: In the 2017 series, she is revealed to have inherited her mischievous ways and talent for trouble from her father, who at one time made the Grand Wizard's trousers disappear for a bet.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Enid has some Alpha Bitch tendencies but is quite loyal to her friends.
• Perky Goth: She's given herself a Goth makeover by the time she appears in Weirdsister College.
• Race Lift: In the 2017 series, she's black.
• Sad Clown: It's very subtle, though there are the occasional hints that Enid might not be quite as carefree as she likes to pretend, and that at least part of her constantly getting into mischief is a cry for attention from a lonely girl who's afraid she doesn't have any friends. In the 2017 series, it's especially blatant in her debut episode when her worst acting out happens after her parents have left without saying goodbye, and again in the second season where she deliberately gets into trouble in the hope that her very busy mother will come and see her.
• Shrinking Violet: Appears to be this. When she first meets her, Mildred thinks that she'll get no fun out of her. Be Careful What You Wish For. This is completely averted in the 2017 series, where she belongs to a rich and famous family and her entrance to the school is quite spectacular, including fireworks, explosions and an almost rockstar-like attitude from her parents.
• Spoiled Sweet: Enid comes from a rich background and is implied to have been spoiled by her parents, but she’s genuinely a good person.
• Token Evil Teammate: Of sorts. Enid certainly isn't 'evil', but she can be distinctly more rebellious and mischievous than her friends, and is the one most likely to lead them into trouble.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Due to misunderstandings, there are times when the teachers think Mildred is this to her. Though in the 2017 series it's on one point turned around and she's accused of being this to Mildred. It's not completely unfair, but she really does love her friends and tries her best to help them out.
• Troll: Sometimes.
• Zany Scheme: She'll occasionally try to pull one off, though her success rate's rather abysmal.

Ethel Hallow

Ethel Hallow

Portrayed by: Anna Kipling (1986 film), Felicity Jones (1998 series (1st season), Weirdsister College), Katy Allen (1998 series), Jenny Richardson (2017 series)

1998

1999

2017

The school's resident Rich Bitch and Alpha Bitch. Ethel comes from a prestigious family of witches, meaning she has a lot of standards to live up to. As a result, she's always top of the class - and lets everyone else know it. She hates Mildred and delights in tormenting her, often trying to get her thrown out of the school.

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• Bittersweet Ending: For Ethel's storyline in the 2017 series Grand Finale. Even though she had to give up her Head Girl position to help Mildred save the school from Agatha Cackle, who manipulated her the whole time, Ethel still got something good in the final episode of the 2017 series. She and Mildred end their rivalry for the greater good, and despite not getting Head Girl, Ethel is given the position to be Mildred's advisor, which Ethel accepts. And during the ceremony, during the final scene, Ethel cheers Mildred on, while Sybil and Felicity comfort Ethel, feeling sorry for Ethel's loss. Ethel had become a better person, bringing her storyline to a bittersweet end.
• Academic Alpha Bitch: Ethel is always top of the class and effortlessly performs spells and potions. However, she's also rude, snobby and has no friends.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the 1998 TV series. While the Ethel of the books was absolutely not a nice person, the Ethel of the series is notably more cruel. One occasion is the adaptation of the fourth book. There Ethel only pushed the boat out to sea because she thought Mildred was going to look for the treasure. In the TV series she pushes the boat out because she knows Tabby is on board (she didn't know about the cat in the book).
• Always Someone Better: In the 2017 series she's constantly outperformed by her older sister Esmerelda, and is always trying to prove that she's the more talented one. It seldom works, because Esmerelda is always that much better than her.
• Annoying Younger Sibling:
  • Sybil is this to her, to the degree that Ethel magically changes her appearance so no one will think they're related.
  • In the 2017 series, Ethel herself is an Annoying Younger Sibling to her older sister Esmerelda.
• Attention Whore: Ethel does love to show off her knowledge.
• Big Sister Bully: To Sybil in both TV series, to the point where Sybil looks to Millie for inspiration instead. Implied to have been one to Mona as well in The New Worst Witch; when Hettie accidentally wakes Mona up during their first night at Cackle's, Mona wakes with a panicked start, thinking it's Ethel playing a nasty trick on her.
• Brainy Brunette: A rare villainous case in the 1998 series. But since Mildred, Maud and Enid are also brunette, it's not that notable.
• Child Prodigy: She gets every spell right and already knows how to fly by the time she starts at Cackle's. She's almost always top of the class.
• Daddy's Girl: As shown when her father visits the school.
• Deadpan Snarker: Especially in the 2017 series, where her remarks can be acidic.
  Maud: [The Hypnapillion] feeds off people's minds, fears, imaginations. Whatever you do, you mustn't look at one! It has sent Miss Mould into a semi-conscious, dreamlike state!
  Ethel: She's an art teacher. How can you tell?
• Deceptive Legacy: In the 2017 series, Ethel is crushed to learn her ancestors are not the powerful witches as she was taught. The Hallows are actually a long line of malicious tricksters who lied to pass themselves off as talented.
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Ethel enchants her broomstick to buck Mildred off and humiliate her in front of the entire school and Grand Wizard - all because Millie turned her into a pig briefly (at Ethel's own request). In the TV series there's also her being annoyed that Mildred was chosen to play the lead role in the Halloween tableau.
  • In the 1998 TV series, her entire dislike of Mildred seems to stem from Millie knocking her off her broom by throwing a branch at her on the first day of school. This was after Ethel had refused to give Mildred a lift to the school, when she was lost and on the verge of being late, because Ethel didn't want to look bad in front of the teachers.
  • And again, she turns Mildred into a frog because Millie said her sister was acting like a weed.
• Do Wrong, Right: When she's turned back from being a pig, she first yells at Mildred for not getting the frog spell right.
• Easily Forgiven: In the series finale of the 2017, Ethel is easily forgiven by Mildred after apologizing to her for sabotaging the Head Girl competition.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Calling Ethel 'evil' might be a stretch as she's mostly just arrogant and petty, but this becomes particularly relevant in the third season of the 2017 series, when she attempts to perform a 'good deed' by exposing a mistake made by Mildred and creating a threat against Cackle's simply so that she can stop it, failing to recognise the difference between her actions and Mildred's genuinely good deeds.
• Evil Is Petty: "Evil" is too strong a word, but pettiness is Ethel's worst trait. She'll maliciously antagonize anyone, especially Mildred, for the slightest offence — real or perceived.
• Forced Transformation: In Book 1 she's turned into a pig by Mildred. Even more so when it happens in the TV series, as she runs off and gets turned into a duck as well.
• Freudian Excuse: In the 2017 series she's desperate to win the approval and affection of her mother, who often ignores her in favor of her older, more talented sister.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Despite being an antagonist, Ethel will sometimes help Mildred for the greater good. In Weirdsister College she's no longer an antagonist and mellows out a little, despite still being the same old Ethel, and in the 2017 series she resolves to become a better person a couple of times — only to fall back into her old ways when her new attitude doesn't get her the recognition she wants.
• Heel–Face Turn: Ethel finally makes up with Mildred at the end of the series finale in the 2017 series. In the show's final scene, Ethel apologizes to Mildred for the trouble she put her through. Mildred accepts it and the two end the series on good terms.
• Heel Realization: She gets a few in the 2017 series, particularly in the season finales... but since Status Quo Is God, they tend not to stick. That is until the series finale at the end of the fourth series, where she and Mildred make up for the trouble.
• Hypocrite: She casts a spell on Mildred for calling Sybil a weed, yet she treats her sister far worse than anyone else does.
  • In the 1980s movie, after being turned into a pig by Mildred, she goes into a sulk when Mildred innocently hints that she smells bad in her new pig form, whining "I think you're horrid! I'm really upset now!" As if she has any right to talk after all her bullying of Mildred...
• Involuntary Shapeshifting: Turns Mildred into a frog in Book 3. In the 1998 TV series she also turns Charlie into a donkey.
• Jerkass: She's spoiled, snobbish and vindictive; though in the presence of the school's teachers she can turn on the charm and act sweet and innocent, playing the role of a victim to Mildred's apparent bullying.
• Karma Houdini: Zig-zagged. She never gets a comeuppance for three of her worst deeds in the TV show that would normally get someone expelled - pushing the boat out to sea with Tabby and Ms Hardbroom in it, turning Mildred to stone for the sake of an art competition and stealing Mildred's holiday project of talking animals solely because she forgot her project at home.
• Lethal Chef: She tries to cook breakfast for Mildred and Cass in the spin-off. Emphasis on tries.
• Light Is Not Good: In the 2017 series — though "evil" is stretching it a little, she's definitely haughty, snobbish, scheming and self-centered. Contrasted with her sisters, who are also blonde and a lot friendlier.
• Middle Child Syndrome: In the 2017 series at least. Her older sister Esmeralda is the favorite in her family and her younger sister Sybil doesn't really look up to her, so she's more justified in how angsty and hostile she is to the school.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Ethel's face of guilt at the end of the penultimate episode of the 2017 series after not only putting Mildred in danger in losing the Head Girl competition but also freeing Agatha Cackle from the photograph and working under her aid to make sure Mildred will lose.
• Never My Fault: Ethel always finds a way to blame Mildred for everything:
  • Ethel blames Mildred for being banned from Hellibore's master class - ignoring the fact that she's being punished for turning Millie into a frog.
  • Taken up to eleven in the revival when Ethel blames the destruction of the founding stone on Mildred. Ultimately subverted as Ethel does admit to be responsible by the end of the episode.
• Parental Neglect: In the 2017 series, Ethel has a difficult relationship with her mother, Ursula Hallow, as her mother favours Ethel’s older sister Esmeralda.
• The Quisling: Subverted in season four finale of the 2017 series. She seems to be manipulated by Agatha and offer her some powerful texts and asks if there will be a place for her in the new administration, but then she tricks Agatha to help save the day.
• Rich Bitch: The TV series says she's from a long line of witches and her father is one of the school governors. She's rich enough to have had private flying lessons prior to starting school.
• The Rival: She takes pleasure in taunting Mildred about her inability to train her cat, to ride a broomstick, and Mildred responds by turning Ethel into a pig. From then on Mildred and Ethel resent one another and Ethel vows to get Mildred expelled, though she does not succeed. They manage to become friends in college, while at the end of the 2017 reboot, the two make amends for the trouble and end up on good terms.
• Smug Snake: She's always top of the class - and will never shut up about it.
• Teacher's Pet: To some extent. Although the teachers don't notice some of her antics, she'll still get punished whenever she's caught misbehaving.
• Teens Are Monsters: Ethel really isn't a nice person. There are several instances where her meddling could have gotten people killed or seriously hurt. She bewitches the broomstick she lends Mildred to buck her off during the display. She shoves a boat out to sea when she finds out Mildred's cat is on board - and doesn't seem to care that Tabby could have drowned. All just to get Mildred into trouble.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Subverted. Whenever Ethel and Mildred have to work together, they rarely seem to have problems. Like saving Drucilla from a blizzard or else coming up with a plan to stop Miss Hardbroom from leaving.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • In the 2017 series, she's retrospectively revealed to have done this since her younger days. According to Sybil, Ethel was a Cool Big Sis to her when they were younger, always looking out for her and comforting her when she was upset, but she grew meaner as they grew older.
    • She takes an additional level in jerkass in the beginning of the third season, after having vowed to do just that at the end of the second season. It gets so bad that she accidentally turns herself into a swamp troll for casting too many spells in anger, and deliberately creates a threat to Cackle's just so that she can stop it (and she can't even do that right).
• The Unfavorite: Ethel is sure her parents prefer the successful Esmerelda over her and can't stand it. The worst part is that her belief may be right.

Drucilla Paddock

Drusilla Paddock

Portrayed by: Holly Rivers (1998 series), Tallulah Milligan (2017 series)

1998

2017

Ethel's only friend at Cackle's. As such, she's frequently in on Ethel's schemes to get Mildred and her friends in trouble. Despite this, she's shown to have some compassion for the rest of the girls and ends her friendship with Ethel before the series is over.

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• Ascended Extra: Becomes one in the books thanks to her role in the TV series.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: In-universe. She's ecstatic when she gets cast as the evil Baron Overblow in the Halloween tableau.
• Beta Bitch: To Ethel.
• Bound and Gagged: In contrast to the books, where this happens to Griselda, Mildred does this to her to take her place and get the chance to see the Grand Wizard.
• Butt-Monkey: Gets rather a lot of slapstick thrown her way.
• Cross-Cast Role: In-universe. Both times the school puts on a production, she plays a male part. She plays Baron Overblow in the Halloween tableau and is set to play Prince Charming in the Christmas pantomime.
• Deadpan Snarker: Compared to Ethel's Smug Snake, Drucilla is a lot more sarcastic.
• Demoted to Extra: While a major character in the 1998 series, she has a much smaller role in the 2017 series, only appearing in the first season before getting Put on a Bus.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: Subverted. When the other girls freak out about a beetle in Ruby's bed, Drucilla has no problem picking it up and helping it outside.
• Enemy Mine: She and Enid end up collaborating on a school project for one episode.
• Establishing Character Moment: Cruelly laughing at Mildred's broken broom in the pilot.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Drucilla doesn't approve of Ethel cheating in "The Heat Is On" (though she still goes along with it). And she ultimately ends her friendship with Ethel when the latter tries to get Mildred thrown out in the penultimate episode.
• Evil Redhead: Borderline example in the 1998 series. While she's an antagonist, she gets more Pet the Dog moments than Ethel.
• Face–Heel Turn: Subtle. In the pilot, she's shown among the girls running to see if Mildred is okay. A few scenes later she's shown with Ethel, laughing at Mildred's broken broom - implying they hit it off and she now hates Millie by association.
• Friendship Moment: She's seen consoling Ethel in the last scene of the finale.
• Heel–Face Turn: At the end of the series she gets fed up with Ethel's antics, and ends their friendship.
• Huge Schoolgirl: Definitely in the 2017 series, where she's the tallest girl in her year and towers over Ethel.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While she is usually as big a Jerkass as Ethel herself, Drucilla is more likely to feel bad about her actions, and shows a nicer side on a number of occasions throughout the series before her final Heel–Face Turn.
• Minion with an F in Evil: Depending on the Writer she'll sometimes be this.
• Named by the Adaptation: Her last name wasn't revealed in the book.
• Only Friend: She's the only person who likes Ethel. Due to the fact that everyone hates them, they act as allies rather than friends.
• Put on a Bus: In the 2017 series, she doesn't return for the second season, having transferred to Pentangle's.
• Race Lift: Like Enid, she's black in the 2017 series.
• Spell My Name With An S: Or rather spell her name without an S. It's Drucilla. It's frequently misspelled by fans - possibly due to influence of another Drusilla. The 2017 series just adds to the confusion by changing the spelling of her name so that it is "Drusilla."
• Took a Level in Kindness: During the last two episodes of the 1998 series, following her Heel–Face Turn.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Despite her feelings towards bugs (see above), she absolutely can't stand lizards.

Teachers

Miss Hardbroom

Miss Hardbroom

Portrayed by: Diana Rigg (1986 film), Kate Duchene (1998 series), Caroline O'Neill (The New Worst Witch), Raquel Cassidy (2017 series)

1998

2017

The school potions teacher and strict disciplinarian. She's a stickler for tradition and will not hesitate to punish the girls for misbehaving. Known for appearing out of thin air at random. Despite her frosty demeanour she's shown to genuinely care for the welfare of the school and the girls deep down.

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• Actually Pretty Funny: She was amused by Mildred's impression of her in the 2017 series, though she restrains her amusement in typical Hardbroom fashion.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: She's described as plain-looking in the books. In the tele-film, she's played by Diana Rigg.
• Adaptational Badass: The TV series shows that Miss Hardbroom is quite formidable in combat. Agatha Cackle even refers to her as "the really dangerous one".
• Adaptational Heroism: The TV series greatly softens her character. While still very stern and strict, she's shown to only care about what's best for the school. This is Fridge Brilliance - as the books were from Mildred's perspective, of course she'd imagine HB being nastier than she actually is.
• Ambiguously Gay: Subtle in the 1998 adaptation (mainly fueled by her Does Not Like Men tendencies and the Belligerent Sexual Tension some viewers noted between her and Miss Drill), then much more obvious in the 2017 series where her relationship with Pippa Pentangle is played as a case of teenage Gayngst.
• …And That Little Girl Was Me: In the 2017 series, Miss Hardbroom tells Mildred a story about a little girl named Joy who made a horrible mistake by giving her best friend magic. Mildred disbelieves her until she reveals that Hecate is her middle name and Joy is her first.
• Badass Teacher: Well in the TV series anyway. If the school is attacked by Wicked Witches, she's usually the one who saves the day.
• Compressed Hair: Mildred wonders how it's possible that HB can tie all her hair back into such a tight bun.
• Cool Teacher: Sometimes she can be this. She's certainly always pleased whenever Mildred does do well in her classes.
• Deadpan Snarker: In the 2017 series, she's more deadpan than ever and has gained a very notable sarcastic edge.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: In the 2017 series after she sees Miss Pentangle again.
• Do Wrong, Right: When (book only) she finds out Mildred has turned Ethel into a pig, she remarks that she's glad Mildred has learned something since starting.
• Does Not Like Men: Well boys. She's enraged at the idea of a boy wanting to attend Cackle's.
• Fantastic Racism: She holds a fair bit of disdain towards "normals." In the 1998 series, this is clearest in her attitude towards Miss Drill, as she's a non-witch. In the 2017 series this doesn't come up, as Miss Drill is a witch there — but Miss Hardbroom's Fantastic Racism still shows in the way she treats Midred's non-witch mother with barely-hidden contempt.
• Freudian Excuse: The 2017 series greatly expands on her backstory and shows just why she displays such hatred for the slightest deviation from rules and tradition, and even reveals the origin of her Fantastic Racism towards Muggles. When she was young and still went by the name "Joy," she made a Muggle friend named Indigo Moon. Wanting them to be together but knowing it was forbidden for witches to be friends with non-magical people, she used forbidden magics to turn Indigo into a witch. Unfortunately, Indigo was not used to magic, became Drunk with Power and wreaked a lot of havoc before eventually turning into a stone statue. Devastated, Joy decided never to break a rule or be friendly to a non-magical again, and started going only by her middle name, Hecate.
• Friendless Background: Strong implication in the 2017 series that this was the case when she was younger, with Pippa Pentangle the exception. Turns out that this was more or less by choice, after the pretty horrific fate of her first friend Indigo Moon.
• Heel Realization: For all the times where she crosses the line to Sadist Teacher, she always feels that she's completely justified in everything and never displays any regret for her behaviour... except for in the 2017 series where she gets hit pretty hard with the realization of how badly she's been handling the situation with Indigo Moon. This is further reinforced in the 2017 show's fourth season finale, when she blames herself for Agatha's return by basically supporting Ethel over Mildred, blaming her support of witching tradition.
• Hypocrite: She is furious that Mildred and friends are apparently bullying Sybil and Clarice in the Season 2 premiere. This is ignoring her own frequent bullying of Mildred in class, not to mention her disdain of Miss Drill.
• I Am Very British: Kate Duchene really poshes HB up. She's like this in the audiobooks too, and in 2017.
• Ironic Name: In the 2017 series, Hecate is her middle name, but her first name is Joy.
• Lady of Black Magic: Everyone knows she's the strongest witch in the school, 1998 and 2017 - and she packs a punch in a fight.
• Letting Her Hair Down: The only time she does so is at the Halloween celebrations or at night. Mildred remarks that she doesn't look half as frightening when it's down.
• Maiden Aunt: Amusingly has to pose as Miss Drill's when they meet up with a group of Canadian Boy Scouts. She's not pleased about it.
• Middle Name Basis: Season Three reveals that Hecate is Miss Hardbroom's middle name.
• Mystical High Collar: Favours these, especially in 2017.
• Named by the Adaptation: The 1998 TV series gives her the first name "Constance," and the 2017 series names her "Hecate."
• Not So Above It All: She actually gets into the spirit of the Dance Party Ending in the season 2 finale.
• Pet the Dog: A lot more times in the TV series than the books. But rather a lot of heartwarming moments come between her and Mildred.
• Playing Against Type: In-universe example. She is cast as the Fairy Godmother in the school pantomime. And she seems to enjoy the cheers she gets.
• Prim and Proper Bun: So severe that her forehead sometimes appears "quite stretched."
• Purple Is Powerful: Her nightgowns are usually purple, and she does plenty of ass kicking in them.
• Robe and Wizard Hat: Favours her pointy black hat and long black dresses.
• Sadist Teacher: She often flirts with this trope, especially in the 2017 series where her sternness often slides into downright nastiness and even borderline bullying behaviour at times. What keeps her from embracing the trope fully, though, is that at the end of the day she does care about the well-being of her students and puts their safety first and foremost.
• Sarcastic Devotee: Possessed of Undying Loyalty to Ms. Cackle, but will also occasionally snark at her.
• Stern Teacher: Definitely the sternest and strictest teacher at Cackle's. Sometimes she slips into Sadist Teacher, especially if you ask Mildred.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: A strict disciplinarian most of the time, but does have a sweet side.
• That Woman Is Dead: The reason why she only goes by her middle name in the 2017 series.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • Occasionally in the 1998 series. When Mildred drops a bucket on her during fire drill. She doesn't actually move until Mildred takes the bucket off her.
  • Slightly more often in The New Worst Witch, probably thanks to Caroline O'Neill's portrayal of her being somewhat more subdued than Kate Duchene's.
  • In the 2017 series, she's a master of this trope. The angrier she is, the quieter her voice. When she whispers, you know she's about ready to kill someone.
• Trrrilling Rrrs: In the 2017 series, she does this on occassion, especially in the fourth season. It seems to be her way of hamming it up.
• Undying Loyalty: To Ms. Cackle, especially in the 2017 series. No matter what, she will support and defend Ms. Cackle, even if she doesn't always agree with her.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In the 2017 series, it's revealed that as a child she was not totally unlike Mildred: sweet-natured, friendly and not the biggest stickler for rules. Her disposition soured thanks to a traumatic event in her childhood.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: All she really cares about is preserving the traditions of the school.

Miss Amelia Cackle

Miss Ameila Cackle

Portrayed by: Clare Coulter (1998 series), Clare Higgins (2017 series)

1998

2017

Headmistress of the academy and - in the 1998 TV series - a spells teacher. In contrast to Miss Hardbroom, she's much nicer and more forgiving. She has an Evil Twin who's frequently trying to seize the school from her.

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• Actually Pretty Funny: When Mrs Tapioca accidentally serves them food with a rat crawling on it in front of the Grand Wizard. Between apologising to Hellibore, she's clearly trying not to burst out laughing herself.
• Adaptational Badass: She certainly didn't immobilise Agatha without speaking in the books.
• Adaptational Name Change: The 2017 series gave her first name as Ada.
• Berserk Button: It's usually to do with her sister Agatha.
• Beware the Nice Ones: While she's friendly to the girls sent to her office, she can be very strict when she wants to be. In the penultimate episode, she worries that she's been too lenient with the girls.
• Big Eater: Episode 2 establishes this. One week on school dinners causes her to rethink what she's making the girls eat.
• Big Fun: She's quite plump but is described in loving tones.
• Big Good: As far as the academy is concerned.
• Bound and Gagged: In the season 1 finale. Complete with Banging for Help too.
• Cool Old Lady: Kind and friendly to all her students, and willing to wave some rather extreme traditions.
• Cool Teacher: In the TV series, as she's shown teaching classes. The Season 1 finale has her teaching the girls a spell through a game. She also wisely teaches Millie An Aesop that fear can't be magicked away - and that one just has to find a way to get used to it.
• Establishing Character Moment: Gets a really good one in the 2017 series. While it's not the first scene she's in, the viewer really gets a great display of what a Cool Old Lady she is (as well as her sweet tooth) when Maud and Mildred are late for being shown around the school, Maud has broken her glasses and Mildred gets travel sick. Miss Cackle calmly fixes Maud's glasses and comforts Mildred:
  Miss Cackle: You've never been through a transference spell before, have you, dear?
  Mildred: *shakes her head*
  Miss Cackle: I'll tell you a secret. I did the same my first time. *hands Mildred a sweet* Here. Take this.
  Mildred: ...Is it magic?
  Miss Cackle: Better. It's sugar. I never go anywhere without a bag of lemon drops. Suck on that, and you'll be fine next time.
• Generation Xerox: When we hear about Granny Cackle who founded the school, it turns out she was a Cool Old Lady too rather like Amelia.
• Hypocritical Humour: She scolds Miss Bat and Miss Drill for spying on Mr Hallow through the keyhole. As soon as they've left, she has a look herself.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Not in the books, as she and Agatha wear the same glasses. In both the TV shows, the glasses are the visual cue to telling the sisters apart: in the 1998 series Miss Cackle is distinguished by wearing horn-rimmed glasses, and in the 2017 series she wears glasses while Agatha doesn't.
• Incoming Ham: When she thinks someone is trying to burgle her office in the series finale.
• The Mentor: As the headmistress, she is concerned with making sure the girls are motivated.
• Not So Above It All: Amusingly when Miss Hardbroom walks into Cosey's Tearoom, Miss Cackle dives under the table to hide - just as the girls have done in the other room.
• Out-of-Character Moment: In the season 1 finale, she's unusually stern and nasty in class. Mildred realises that it's Agatha impersonating her.
• Putting the "Pal" in Principal: During the 2017 series especially, she's very kind to her students, and always has time for their troubles.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: To the degree that in the penultimate episode, when Jadu and Mildred are to be expelled, she employs Loophole Abuse to have their parents withdraw them from school - so their permanent records won't be harmed with an expulsion.
• Sweet Tooth: She loves sweets, desserts and cakes.
• Trademark Favourite Food: Deserts in general. But it seems to be cheese. The password to her safe is Cauliflower Cheese.
• Tsundere: Type B. She's usually nice and kind to students - but won't hold back on the discipline if she's annoyed.

Miss Davina/Gwendolyn Bat

Miss Davina/Gwendolyn Bat

Portrayed by: Una Stubbs (1998 series), Wendy Craig (2017 series)

1998

2017

A minor book character who becomes a main character in both TV series. She's the chanting teacher and the school's resident Cloud Cuckoo Lander. Known for eccentric things like eating cat food or locking herself in the staff room cupboard when she's offended. Leaves after 1998 season 2 to apparently live in "Inner Mongolia" (according to CITV).

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• Adaptation Personality Change: She's implied to be strict in the books but becomes a lovable eccentric in the 1998 TV series. In the 2017 series, her personality is an amalgamation between the two; she is a lot less likely to tolerate nonsense from her students, but retains her affable nature and a good number of eccentric quirks.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: "You might have to eat snails one day. Or sheep's eyeballs. Or something really horrible like chocolate fudge cake with caramel sauce". She cringes as she says the last one.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She's a bit of an eccentric, but she is genuinely good at her job.
• Call-Back: The 1998 season 2 premiere has Miss Cackle wondering where Miss Bat is, just as she did in the series premiere. Only instead of unexpectedly finding her in the cupboard like she did then, Miss Bat's gone away on holiday.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: In the 1998 series, she disappears from Cackle's without a canon explanation. CITV said she went to live in Inner Mongolia.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She eats cat food, locks herself in the stationary cupboard for hours, and has several Berserk Buttons.
• The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: It's a gag in Season 2 that Miss Bat insists she was in Inner Mongolia, applying the logic that if there's an Outer Mongolia then there must be an Inner one too. Despite Miss Drill insisting there's no such place, Miss Bat is right, there actually is.
• Cool Teacher: Despite being nuts, she's kind and friendly to the girls.
• Drama Queen: Will often get offended over the most trivial things.
• Extreme Omnivore: She has a habit of eating bizarre food, including flowers, fungus, sour milk and cat food.
• Hypocritical Humour: She's seen eating a sweet she confiscated from a student.
• Meaningful Name: She's quite batty (as in eccentric). Likewise Davina means "beloved" or "friend". She's definitely the friendliest teacher at Cackle's.
• Messy Hair: Her wild grey hair is just about kept at bay in her bun.
• Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: A few times. The notable one is trying to get the girls to eat their dinners with the 'here comes an aeroplane' trick.
• Named by the Adaptation: She's named Davina in the TV series.
• Official Couple: With Algernon Rowan Webb in the 2017 series. They get married at the end of the third season.
• Out-of-Character Moment: Thanks to the personality change, her one canon book appearance becomes this in the series. Throwing Mildred out of class for laughing seems very at odds with her character.
  • Slightly less out of character in the 2017 adaptation - she's friendly with the girls but is strict sometimes, and definitely less of a Cloud Cuckoo Lander than her '98 counterpart. She even looks more like the illustration.
• The Rival: With Miss Hardbroom in Season 1, Miss Drill in Season 2.
• Running Gag: Locking herself in the cupboard whenever she's offended.
  Miss Cackle: We'll be lucky to get her out of there before half-term.
• Slipknot Ponytail: We see her hair down when she's caught in a tornado in the hallway.
• Tsundere: Type B. Normally dorky and sweet, but will flip out if she's offended.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Miss Drill. The two are good friends but - from Season 2 onwards - they're in constant competition with each other and are always scoring points over who is the better class tutor.
• Voluntary Shape Shifting: It's said she once turned an entire class into swallows and migrated with them.
• Womanchild: She's called out for this behaviour by Miss Hardbroom.