I Watched 6 Seasons of Hetty Feather / Was It Worth It?

When I was a child, I was an avid reader of Jacqueline Wilson books and the first book and my instant favourite book was ‘Hetty Feather’. I also realised that there were episodes airing on CBBC. This summer as a GCSE student, I came back to looking back at my childhood and noticed that there was the full series of Hetty Feather available on BBC iPlayer for free! I ended up watching all 6 seasons and all 55 episodes were available. In this article, I will be reviewing this series, the lessons I learnt, my favourite and worst season, my favourite character, rating and whether I would recommend it.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers so please take caution if you don’t want spoilers.

What is Hetty Feather?

‘Hetty Feather’ is originally a book written by Jacqueline Wilson, but it is also now a drama series. As per Wikipedia, it is:

Hetty Feather is a British children’s drama series, which focuses on the life of the title character who was abandoned as a baby, lives first in a Foundling Hospital in London, and later works as a maid for a rich family in their home. It is based on the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. The first series aired from 11 May 2015 to 6 July 2015. The series began airing in the United States on BYUtv in 2018.^[1] Cast member Fern Deacon confirmed that the sixth series, accompanied by a feature-length special, would be the final series.

What Lessons Did I Learn?

I learnt so many lessons from this simple series. I loved that it contained the perfect hint of everything such as action, comedy, drama and romance. Here are the top 5 lessons I learnt:

Be proud of your identity.

Your identity is so special and this whole show is about Hetty trying to find out who she is and all the obstacles she overcame. I personally think that we should all be blessed to have parents/guardians and be proud of our roots because children like Hetty do not have that privilege.

Never give up.

Hetty is a big risk-taker (which I would not recommend all the time in real-life) and when she starts something she wants to finish it. Even though she usually gets into a lot of trouble, she eventually solves her problems. Therefore, I think you should always do what is best for you.

Stick together.

One of the famous quotes that a lot of foundlings say is ‘Us foundlings, we stick together.’ In real life, this relates to us because we should always seek support from our loved ones and help others when needed.

Forgiveness is key.

One thing that I have recognised is that Hetty and her true friends always forgive others, even if it is difficult. This allows them to grow as a community and progress in life, instead of keeping the burdens of the past. For example, Hetty forgives Blanche, Sheila and even Matron for all the bad behaviour they have committed. So, I think you should always forgive yourself and others for past mistakes.

Know your boundaries.

For example, Emily Calendar knows she wants to pursue Medicine, and even though she is about to give in to marry a guy that she does not like, she still deep down knows her boundaries and that she wants to become a doctor. Harriet also rejects Matthias when he goes and messes around and this makes him realise his mistake and chase her.

What Were My Favourite And Worst Seasons?

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the seasons to some degree which is why I finished it till the end.

But if I had to choose, I would pick Series 1 to be my favourite because it introduced everything so well, the character development was fabulous and it was so entertaining to see the different relationships between the characters.

I would say that the season I enjoyed the least would have to be Series 5 because I felt quite confused about the Dawn Star and thought it was a bit too complex than required. I didn’t really understand the meaning behind the star but altogether, I did enjoy the reunion of Lady Grenford with the gang.

Who Were My Favourite Characters?

I would say that my favourite character would have to be (drum roll….) Hetty (played by Isabel Clifton). Isabel played Hetty really well and she is a very feisty character who goes and pursues her dreams. She is also very helpful. However, she can make others and herself get into problems and trouble, and she can suppress her emotions.

I also enjoyed seeing the character of Sheila (played by Polly Allen) evolve. At the beginning, she is quite evil and even makes Hetty’s real mother get into trouble and leave the Foundling Hospital. This is very rude but in the Calendar Hall, she is so helpful possibly because she realises that she values relationships more than her position at work. Polly also played her wonderfully. One thing I didn’t really enjoy about Sheila was that she pursued the soldier and gave up her position too quickly which was unlike her.

The last character is Harriet. Harriet is so calm and soft and helpful at times too. She has her own boundaries (as I said above) and again played amazingly by Ava Mersen-O’Brien.

Rating: ⅘

I would highly recommend this series and wish that it had continued. Again, it contained a mixture of everything, full of twists and the actors played the characters really well. The reason why it is not a 5 is because Series 5 and 6 were a bit confusing and felt a bit rushed but nonetheless, the vast did an amazing job. All the details of the Victorian era were also beautifully portrayed here. I would recommend watching this series when you are free! I also think the movie is better than the book!

Those were some of the lessons that I learnt from ‘Hetty Feather’. I really hoped you enjoyed this little record of some of the lessons I learnt. I surely believe that if you look for value in something, you may find it, so the next time you watch a movie, try to see what you can learn from it.

Thank you so much for reading, and have a lovely day!