The Witch (TV story)

***The Witch*** was the the sixth episode of *Series 2*, and the nineteenth overall of *Survivors*.

## Synopsis

It's now a pagan society and witchcraft rears its head.

## Plot

Pet is attempting to milk a cow. She calls Hubert over, reminding him he brought the cows over from the field. An older woman, Mina, is pushing a baby in a pram in the woods. John and Lizzie tell her they have some corn for her. Mina goes to see Pet, who tells her there's no milk. Pet provides her with some flour and also some spare corn to grind. She has put the plants Pet needs under the baby in the pram. Despite Mina warning Pet not to disturb him, the baby starts crying. Even though she is looking after Paul, Pet asks Mina to take the baby away.

Greg and Charles are trying to get a water mill working. After they've cleared the blockage, the wheel starts moving but soon grinds to a halt since the wooden blades have rotted away. They will need replacing. Greg lists how much needs sorting. Charles dreams of having hydroelectric power. Greg thinks they should wait until they have more light and full manpower. Charles wants Jack to check it.

Mina visits Peggy, who is doing the washing, in order to collect the flour. Mina is unhappy to see Hubert, who says he checked on her cottage first thing. Mina says she locked the door to keep him out. Peggy complains about the lack of milk. Mina is followed from the cottage by Hubert, who is clearly interested in her and suggests he'd help her out if he lived with her. Mina contemptuously notes they're both ugly. Hubert manages to get into her cottage through a side door. He is seen by John and Lizzie, who have brought the flour. They explain Mina's doing the baking. Hubert tells them to stay away from the place, claiming Mina puts children in her oven. Mina appears and Hubert tries to send the children away. Mina asks John and Lizzie to help with the baby and take him for a walk. Hubert tells them to do as she says. Mina wonders what Hubert's been telling the children. He tries to get her to let him stay and roughly kisses her. Brandishing a chair, Mina orders him out.

Greg and Charles find John and Lizzie with the baby and tell them to get in the warm and take the baby back to Mina. They are relieved when Charles volunteers to take the baby back, returning him to Mina. She says the children should have come back when it got cold and wonders why they ignored her calls. Charles finds she has been trying to make biscuits. They discuss making marbles for the children with clay. During the night, Hubert sneaks back to the cottage. He has a ring with him that he intends to give Mina, saying it was his mother's. Mina warns him not to wake the baby. She hits him in the face with a nappy she's been soaking, causing him to fall down the steps.

Next morning, Jack and Peggy see Mina collecting mud. She goes back to her cottage and shapes it into a man. Meanwhile, Greg, Charles, Jack, Pet and Ruth discuss the repairs needed on the mill. Pet thinks they should sort out the roof of the pig sty first. Ruth discusses the cow problems and Greg and Charles debate finding an alternate method to grind corn. They also wonder about John and Lizzie's behaviour.

John and Lizzie deliver mud to Mina. They are eager to leave. Mina shows them the marbles she's baked in the oven, along with the small figure of a man. She says it's Hubert and she baked him, accidentally breaking a leg off. John and Lizzie take her a bit too literally and hurry out, to see Hubert hobbling on his leg. They run to see Ruth and tell her that Mina did it, telling her about the clay man. Peggy overhears as Hubert comes in. John and Lizzie relate their story. Ruth tries to restore sense to the conversation as Hubert admits he was outside Mina's cottage when he hurt his leg. He vaguely says she threatened him. Ruth insists there's no connection with what John and Lizzie saw. Hubert blames Mina for the problem with cows and potatoes, while John, Lizzie and Peggy discuss the mud. Peggy thinks Mina tried to poison Pet with the herbs she gave her. Peggy and Hubert leave as Ruth tries to talk John and Lizzie down.

Peggy and Hubert discuss Mina's behaviour with Pet. Pet is upset Mina is trying pottery, Peggy worries about the baby and the children, and Hubert claims he's the main problem and she's made him think about her. Pet decides to go and see Mina. Meanwhile, Jack tells Greg and Charles about the rumours about Mina. Pet finds the baby in the pram outside the cottage. She goes inside and finds Mina making a model of Charles' head. Mina tries to hide it. Pet tells her about Hubert breaking his leg in reality. She goes into a panic about the model, thinking Mina's trying to put a spell on Charles, especially when Mina destroys it in fright. Mina runs outside and finds the baby, Matthew, gone. She runs about searching for him.

Pet finds Peggy has Matthew. John and Lizzie have gone to get Charles. Pet thinks they should force Mina out while Peggy thinks she has the devil in her. Mina arrives and Peggy tries to scare her off with a crucifix. Charles arrives to take charge, handing Matthew back to Mina. He says he'll be round later to talk to her. He is disgusted with Pet and Peggy, telling them to get Hubert. He asks Hubert how he hurt himself. Hubert says Mina did it and she's a witch. Charles asks how you know someone's a witch. He picks holes in Hubert's story about Mina making him fancy her. Ruth comes in and reveals Mina just told him that she hit Hubert with a wet nappy. Also, the cows weren't giving milk because Hubert let the calves suck them dry.

Charles goes to see Mina and tries to convince her everything will be all right now. Mina thinks she will be blamed next time something happens and it isn't safe for her or Matthew to remain there. She thinks they'll stone or burn her. Charles tries to calm her. He says they used to laugh at people who believed in witches, because things were kept in proportion. Mina still isn't sure about staying, saying people won't just stop believing. She admits she's never really felt part of the community. Charles tries to convince her to stay for Matthew's sake.

Charles meets with Greg and Jack and they discuss how so many people are away on salt detail. Charles wants to get Pet to talk to Mina. Greg and Jack go and confront Hubert, telling him he needs to apologise to Mina or else he'll either take a beating or be thrown out. Meanwhile, Pet admits to Charles that she feels ashamed. She agrees to take Peggy and see Mina. Hubert goes up to the cottage but Mina hides from him. He warns here there'll be trouble if she doesn't let him in, then leaves, saying they can't say she hasn't tried.

Pet and Peggy tell Jack they're going to see Mina with a gift for Matthew. However, they find the cottage empty. Soon, Charles is organising a search party. Greg and Hubert go to search by the river, while Charles and Jack will search the road. Pet is left looking after the children and Ruth and Peggy are told to search the fields. Pet tries to feed John and Lizzie goat's milk. The others search for Mina with flaming torches but she is scared and hides from them.

Hubert hears Matthew crying and finds Mina in the mill. He follows her up the steps and tries to tell her not to be afraid and to apologise. Mina tells him to stay away and ends up hitting him on the head with a piece of wood. Greg arrives and calms the situation. Next morning, Ruth has been to check on Mina in the cottage and sends Pet and Peggy in. They present Mina with a new baby blanket. Meanwhile, Hubert, his head bandaged, is grinding corn by hand. He complains to Ruth that his arm hurts now. Ruth replies that there are worse fates.

## Cast

* Greg Preston - Ian McCulloch
* Charles Vaughan - Denis Lill
* Pet Simpson - Lorna Lewis
* Ruth Anderson - Celia Gregory
* Hubert Goss - John Abineri
* John Millon - Stephen Dudley
* Lizzie Willoughby - Tanya Ronder
* Jack Wood - Gordon Salkilld
* Mina - Delia Paton
* Peggy - Catherine Finn

## Crew

* Written by Jack Ronder
* Produced by Terence Dudley
* Directed by Terence Williams