September 19th, 2007 : Witchfinder General on DVD
Just released in the USA is this region 1 DVD of Ian's 1968 film Witchfinder General complete with commentary by Ian as well.

August 19th, 2007 : Ian Ogilvy in Ruins
Ian will be off to Greece and Spain shortly to work on the film My Life in Ruins, written by Nia Vardalos and due for release next year.

January 4th, 2007 : Return of the Saint extras
In the shops at the end of this month is the complete Return of the Saint on region 2 DVD from Network. Alongside a complete run of the series the following extras have been confirmed:

• The Saint Steps In... to the 70s - Narrated by Sir Roger Moore, this is a unique and exclusive documentary on the making of the series which features contributions from Ian Ogilvy, producer Robert S. Baker and others involved with the production of the series.
• four exclusive commentaries featuring Ian Ogilvy, producer Robert S. Baker, production manager Malcolm Christopher and writer John Goldsmith
• The Saint and the Brave Goose – feature-length version of the Collision Course two-parter which is presented in its episodic format on discs four and five.
• Episodic Image gallery with music suite
• Title sequence storyboard gallery
• Return of The Saint Script Archive - Presented here in PDF format are original scripts (plus some changes and meeting notes) for Return of the Saint. These PDFs can only be viewed on suitable software on a PC/Mac and cannot be viewed on your DVD player. The scripts are: Appointment in Florence , Assault Force, The Debt Collectors, The Diplomat's Daughter, Hot Run, Nightmare Man, The Obono Affair, The Poppy Chain, Tower Bridge is Falling Down and Vicious Circle. Also included is Prince of Darkness – an unproduced script in which the Saint fights vampires!
• Promotional image gallery
• Memorabilia image gallery
• Generic Return of the Saint trailer
• European opening titles featuring vocal theme "Taking it Easy" by Oliver Onions
• Previously unseen rushes from the title sequence (mute)
• Commercial Break Bumpers
• Textless material (mute)
• The Saint at Elstree featurette - A plaque honouring Roger Moore is unveiled at Elstree Studios in December 2006
• Return of The Saint annuals in PDF format (1979 & 1980)
• PDF of original colour publicity brochure
• PDF of original Look In and TV Times articles

December 15th, 2006: Coming January 29th, 2007...

December 15th, 2006: Measle and the Slitherghoul
Let loose in paperback 8th June, 2007. RRP £5.99 but check the usual online places nearer publication date.

November 8th, 2006: The return of The Return of the Saint
The series will be released on region 2 DVD on January 29th 2007. Extras to be confirmed soon.

September 28th, 2006: Ian goes to Birmingham
Ian will be appearing at The Memorabilia Show, 25th and 26th of November at the NEC in Birmingham

May 4th, 2006: Ian on Tour
Ian is currently touring the UK alongside Liza Goddard and John Barrett in a production of DANGEROUS OBSESSION by NJ Crisp. A review by theatrical newspaper The Stage can be found here. And the rest of the tour is as follows:

May 8th to 13th: Theatre Royal, Bath
May 29th to June 3rd: Devonshire Park, Eastbourne
June 12th to 17th: Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford
June 19th to 24th: Theatre Royal, Brighton
June 26th to July 1st: Richmond Theatre, Richmond

March 9th, 2006: Moore Saint
Ian has narrated "The Saint Steps In...to Colour", a 44 minute documentary on the making of the colour episodes of THE SAINT with Roger Moore . You'll find this as one of the extras on Network DVD's 14 disc box set of THE SAINT which is due in shops on March 27th. Moore details here

December 5th, 2005: The Saint in Hampshire

On Tuesday November 15th Ian paid a visit to Wellow School in Hampshire and gave the Junior classes an exclusive reading of the first chapter from Measle and the Slitherghoul followed by individual visits to their classrooms to patiently answer their questions. Our correspondent James Dickerson, aged 7, picks up the story...

It was fun when Ian came to our school and when he read from Measle and the Slitherghoul. He told us how Sheepshank sneezed and the snot came alive! It was really funny and I can't wait for the book.Then he came round to the Junior classes and he answered a lot of questions. He really is my favorite author!

November 14th, 2005: The Return of the Saint...
No matter what the critics say the best way to get feedback on a children's book is to hear what other children think about it. And that pretty much sums up this web site, which is an excellent resource to find out what kids are reading and what they think of what they're reading.

November 6th, 2005: The Return of the Saint...
Make a date in your diary. ITV 4. Tuesdays. They're repeating the Return of the Saint...

And those nice folks at HarperCollins in the US have confirmed the following publication dates:

Measle and the Dragadon paperback, released Augst 16th, 2006, on sale September 5th
Measle and the Mallockee hardback, released December 7th, 2005, on sale 27th December 2005
Measle and the Mallockee paperback, on sale Winter 2007

October 23rd, 2005: The Saga Continues...
Sorry. couldn't resist it. This issue of Saga magazine carries an interview with Ian

And with Measle and the Mallockee having been in the shops for a week or two we thought we might mention that those fine folks at Amazon are offering you the opportunity to buy the latest Measle Stubbs adventure at an impressive 40% off list price. Click here for more.

August 27th, 2005: Extracted Measles
Which is not as painful as it sounds. Honest. You can find extracts from the first three Measle Stubbs adventures here (but make sure you've got an Adobe Acrobat reader before downloading any of them and please be warned, the sample from Measle and the Mallockee is over 1MB in size which is not good if you've got a dial-up connection)

And whilst we think of it book 5 apparently has the working title of Measle and the Zephyrine

April 10th, 2005: More Adventures for Measle
Ian's been offered a contract for two further books and is currently working on no.4, which has the working title of Measle and the Slitherghoul...

January 28th, 2005
South Africa's got the Measle's...
"He's skinny, he rarely baths and he lives in a derelict house with the ultra-creepy Basil Tramplebone, but Measle Stubbs is the good guy of the story and beneath the patchy clothes and smelly exterior is a sharp intellect and brave heart. Just as well really because Measle has his fair share of adversity to deal with in Measle and the Wrathmonk by Ian Ogilvy (Oxford). For one Basil Tramplebone, his guardian, is a wrathmonk — the absolute worst kind of wizard. When Measle upsets the old meany by playing with his giant train set, Basil zaps him with a spell that shrinks him to a few centimetres high. Now Measle is trapped in the world of the toy train set where he befriends a host of characters who have shared a similar fate. The meat of the story lies in their staying alive by avoiding the thing that lives in the rafters, the foul-breathed wrathmonk and one enormous cockroach. Measle and the Wrathmonk is a quick and quirky adventure with just the right combination of wit, magic and feel-good factor.

By the end of the story Measle's fate has improved considerably. He is reacquainted with his parents and a whole new story opens up in the form of Measle and Dragodon (Oxford). Ogilvy's second book for young readers is a good 120 pages thicker than the first, leaving plenty more room for Chris Mould's wacky illustrations — not to mention Measle's wild adventures. This time around a nasty Dragodon and his gang of wicked wrathmonks cast a spell on Measle's mom and dad. And guess who has to save them?"

And so has Sweden...

January 15th, 2005
First update of the new year...

Links to more reviews, here, here and an article on illustrator Chris Mould here

September 8th 2004
It was all going so brilliantly well. Measle’s evil, train-set loving Guardian, Basil Tramplebone, was dead, his mum and dad weren’t and Measle was settling into a life of luxury at his parents’ enormous country house with his new best friend Tinker the dog. There were birthdays and Christmases (one for every year he’d missed), trips in his dad’s magical car and a day out at the Isle of Smiles, the most fantastic, spectacular Theme Park ever!

Trust seven deranged Wrathmonks and an ancient Dragon wielding maniac to go and spoil it all.

 Lurking beneath the Isle of Smiles, dormant for thousands of years, is a Dragodon; last of a breed of incredibly powerful beings who ruled the world astride their terrifying dragons - until they came a cropper and died out. When the Dragodon teams up with a group of Wrathmonks hell bent on revenging their dear departed friend, Basil Tramplebone, it spells disaster for Measle and his unsuspecting family. Measle’s dad is zapped with an amnesia spell and his mum is kidnapped and bundled off to the Dragodon’s lair, deep inside the now deserted and rain-wracked Theme Park. Faced with thousands of magically animated cuddly toys, a posse of insane carousel horses and a decidedly angry Tyrannosaurus Rex (metal of course), it’s left to Measle and Tinker to save the day. If they can just save themselves first…

Measle and the Dragodon is the second exciting Measle story by Ian Ogilvy. The baddies are badder, the adventures bigger, the haircuts wilder and the smell, blissfully reduced (he has a very nice bath thank you). At least Measle’s not scared this time, just a bit petrified.

 When Ian was a child, living in London, one of his favourite places to go on a summer day was to Battersea Park. ‘There used to be a funfair there. It was set up each Spring and dismantled each Autumn and, during the summer months, it would be in full swing. It was a rather dilapidated affair – the paint was peeling off the Dodgem cars, the iron of Ferris wheel was decidedly rusty and some of the woodwork on the roller coaster actually appeared to be rotting away – but it was still a wonderful place for a kid to visit. And, if your imagination was fertile enough, the funfair could also seem a slightly sinister spot, particularly after dark. And in the rain. And when nobody was there.’

 So, since all kids like theme parks – the modern equivalent of the old-fashioned funfair – Ian thought he’d set Measle And The Dragodon in a cold, deserted, dark and rainy theme park, where anything can happen - and often does…

Measle and the Dragodon
Published October 7th 2004, Oxford University Press
ISBN0-19-271953-X
Luminous orange flexi-cover: £8.99

August 3rd 2004
The Saint beats Harry Potter and Roald Dahl!

The excellent Kids' Review web site carries a page detailing the top ten kids books based on the reviews posted on the web site. These reviews are written by kids for kids and top of the heap is Measle and the Wrathmonk by Ian Ogilvy whilst it seems that the best Harry Potter can do is no. 4...

July 3rd 2004
There's a two page feature on Ian in today's "Weekend" magazine (part of the Daily Mail newspaper) and the Guardian carries a good review from which we can but quote:

"Come to think of it, stink is what Ogilvy does best. This is a book that smells superbly foul-ideal fare for seven- to 11-year-olds. Teachers and parents take note: this would make for the perfect, serialised read-aloud before going home, going to bed or going spare."

And the Guardian have also named Ian as Author of the Month.

July 2nd 2004
A review on the Reading Matters web site

Ian and Measle are on Capital Disney, Sundays at 7.

A few dates for your diary:

September 1st, 2004:
Harper Childrens in the USA publish Measle the Wrathmonk in hardcover.

October 2004
OUP in the UK publish Measle and the Dragodon, with a glorious orange cover that can be seen on this web site soon.

April 2005:
Harper Childrens in the USA publish Measle and the Dragodon in hard cover (tentatively scheduled for April 12th) and publish Measle and the Wrathmonk in paperback.

June 16th 2004

On his recent trip to the UK Ian caught up with his old Saint producer Robert S. Baker. It was the first time in nearly 25 years that the pair have seen each other...

You can buy Measle and the Wrathmonk online through The Saint Club for £8.50 including UK postage and packing.

Catch up with some of the old news

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