The Railway Children Return
A charming trip down memory lane with an important social message
By Rachael Davis, PA Entertainment Features Writer
In 1944, as the Second World War is reaching its climax and bombs rain down on Manchester, a mother-of-three has to make the most difficult decision: to send her children to the countryside for their own safety. After a heart-wrenching goodbye at the train station, evacuees Lily, Pattie and Ted are on their way to the Yorkshire village of Oakworth, where a big adventure awaits.The three young heroes of The Railway Children Return are met on the Oakworth station platform by BobbieWaterbury – who, fans of the 1970 original will remember, herself arrived in Yorkshire on the railway many years ago – along with her daughter Annie and grandson Thomas. The Yorkshire family welcome the evacuees with open arms to their new life in the countryside, but the idyllic country ‘holiday’ turns into a perilous quest when the children discover Abe, an injured black American soldier in need of their help. Bold young Lily takes charge on the children’s mission to help and protect their new friend – a brave lad who, like them, is stuck far away from home. Some 52 years after The Railway Children captured the hearts of British families, The Railway Children Return brings a charming, exciting adventure for a new generation – but it’s not without some familiar faces. JennyAgutter,now 69,reprises the role of Bobbie.It’s been decades since Bobbie was the plucky young girl helping the villagers in her new home of Oakworth: the film shows that she’s now settled with her daughter and grandson after an extraordinary life of pioneering social justice.
“I think it was really important to know what she’d been up to,” Agutter says of coming back to the character.
“It’s an extraordinary period of time, because we saw her in 1905 as a young teenager – she would have been a suffragette, she would have been very much for the women’s movement.” But, she adds: “Since it’s actually quite a small role within the film, it’s a chance to go: there’s a new Bobbie, as it were, in Lily, and there’s a daughter, and there’s a whole other story.” “When Jenny arrived, it was like royalty arriving,” recalls Gavin And Stacey and Cilla star Sheridan Smith, 41, who plays Bobbie’s daughter Annie.
“Everyone was so excited, it really was like: wow. To get Jenny’s seal of approval!”
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