Released in 1970 and based on the 1905 novel by E Nesbit, the film about young people forced to move to Yorkshire after their father was accused of being a spy became a classic watch for many families and often featured in Best British Film compilations. But only now, more than 50 years later, has there been a sequel. Although it is different from the original, actress Jenny Agutter is back as the character of Bobbie. One of the original railway children, she is now a grandmother living with her daughter in the Yorkshire countryside as they take in children evacuated from Manchester during the Second World War. While times may have changed, the setting hasn’t, and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has also reprized its role for The Railway Children Return – with Oakworth station in West Yorkshire where much of the action takes place. Agutter told Sky News’ Backstage podcast that it was strange to return to both the character and the location decades later. “It’s hard to describe exactly how it feels because you’re being taken back like there’s no time in between, and yet you realize that you’ve had this whole life in between and that the world is different, and that The world you’re expressing for this film is completely different from that of the first film. “Well, it’s like telescoping everything, it’s like telescoping all of time together. And I think in a funny way, the most nostalgic [thing] for me I was actually watching the movie, watching the kids and watching the movie start and I was at the station.” Sheridan Smith, who plays her daughter in the film, says Agutter’s return was for some special moments. “It was great to see Jenny walk into the station for the first time, it was so emotional,” Smith said. “It was like royalty arrived.” Smith says she didn’t need much convincing to sign up for the sequel. “I remember getting the phone and watching it growing up with my mum and dad,” he said. “I’m a huge fan of Jenny Agutter and I knew Jenny was going to be on board and I was going to play her daughter and I was like, ‘Wow’. I jumped at the chance. Yeah, excited.” Railway Children Return arrives at a time when there seems to be a real appetite for nostalgia. Another long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick – which came 36 years after its predecessor – has broken box office records this year. And while there may not be much in common between the two films, the makers of the British film will be hoping it will also appeal to audiences who still think fondly of the original. But while there’s certainly plenty in the new film for fans of the first, Agutter says it’s its own distinct story. Subscribe to the Backstage podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker “On the one hand [we’re] reviewing the same thing, but we are actually talking about something that is very different,” he said. “I mean, this story is nostalgic in the sense that it’s about the time of war, but we’re living in a time that’s actually present again and around us. “It refers to the early railway children, but it’s not that adventure, it’s not those stories and it’s not that innocent world, it’s a different world – it’s a world after the First and Second World Wars. .” Smith agrees. “It’s a different story at a different time, and actually people watching it don’t need to have seen the first one, as a new generation would still get a lot from it.” “But I think for people who have seen the original, which is the majority of people, it’s going to be terribly nostalgic to go and see our version.” The Railway Children Return is in cinemas in the UK
