Jenny Agutter (The Railway Children) interview
Jenny Agutter (Spooks, Walkabout) stars in Lionel Jeffries’ film version of ES Nesbit’s The Railway Children, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. LastBroadcast caught up with Jenny to discuss her memories of making the film...
> Buy the 40th anniversary edition DVD.
When Father is mysteriously taken away by the police one night, Bobbie (Jenny Agutter), Phyllis (Sally Thomsett) and Peter (Gary Warren) move to the country with Mother to start a new, more modest life. The children wile away the summer days playing on the local railway, where they make the acquaintance of station porter Mr. Perks (Bernard Cribbins), and the Old Gentleman (William Mervyn), who waves to them from his 1st Class carriage every morning. In awe of the great steam locomotives that thunder down the track, the children’s resourcefulness is put to great use; all whilst they await the return of their beloved Father.
It’s the 40th Anniversary of the film, what are your memories like of the shoot, looking back?
“They’ve very vivid actually, you’d like they’d be parts you’d forget, but no. I remember meeting Lionel Jeffries, the director, in a restaurant and he said “I’m making The Railway Children, you’re going to play Roberta” and you can’t really say no to that! He created something amazing though. Every day of the shoot was absolutely beautiful, the weather was perfect, so we were very lucky as were shooting very fast as we shot spring to summer. It was on a pretty small budget, so Lionel chose people he knew, so everyone really gave it their all.
Are you still in touch with any of the film’s cast?
I still speak to Bernard Cribbins, he gives me a call now and then, and we had the premiere of the 40th anniversary restored version last night, so it was lovely to see everyone there. It’s such a shame that Lionel passed away last month, it’s very sad.
What was Bernard Cribbins like to work with?
Bernard was and is extraordinary. He’s such an energetic person, he was always knows what he’s doing, he’s so professional. He’s also just very, very funny – he can find the fun in every situation, he never really stops!
He’s had a bit of a comeback in recent years on Doctor Who, have you seen any of his episodes? Would you like to appear in the show yourself at some point?
Yes, he loved doing that so much, he talks about it a lot. Absolutely, yes, it’s such an amazing show, how they can constantly revitalise it and now they're just about to do it again. It’s part of my childhood, it was one of the few things we were allowed to watch at boarding school!
Is it true that Sally Thomsett, who played 11-year old Phyllis, wasn’t allowed to be smoke or drink during the shoot as she was actually 20?
Yes, they forbade her from being seen drinking or anything like that. She had a wonderful sports car too and she wasn’t allowed to drive that in public, so her boyfriend had to pick her up in it. Lionel caught her smoking once round the back of the set and just said sternly “put that out!”. Even today there’s something quite childlike about her when you see her.
You’d also played the part of Roberta a couple of years earlier in a BBC adaptation of the book - was it odd going back to the character? Did you try to play it any differently for the film?
Well, I certainly felt more grown up, because I was a bit older, so I did wonder if it was a good idea, but I’m so glad that I did it. A lot of the lines were the same, so it felt familiar, but the TV version was mostly shot in the studio, whereas for the film we were actually there for real and had more time.
You then also played the Mother in ITV’s adaptation in 2000, how was that?
It was interesting, looking at the story in a different way. It was lovely hearing Jemima Rooper, who played Roberta, saying the lines. I was a parent by then and you end up revisiting your childhood a lot - for instance when you take your child to school for the first time, it reminds you of your own schooldays. So it was interesting to revisit the story, but from the mother’s point of view.
Do you think you’d ever be tempted to be involved in a fourth adaptation?
I’m not sure what I’d play, perhaps if they made the Old Gentleman the ‘Old Woman’ instead?!
Do you know if ITV1’s comedy drama Monday Monday will come back?
Sadly not, it’s a real shame, it was great fun to do and we all really enjoyed it. I know the writers had lots of ideas for where the story could go, but it’s not to be, no.
Would you ever return to to Spooks as Tessa, who you played in Series 1-2?
Yes, I think I would, she’s not dead and there’s certainly lots left to cover with Harry. I’m sure she could cause some disturbances for him! She’s really weird, it’s a great character to play - she’s maybe amoral, maybe not. She just does what she does if she thinks it’s right and she likes a good life.
What have you got coming up this year?
I’ve done an episode of Moving On, which is a BBC series of one-off dramas dealing with issues of today. It’s very low budget and was just a daytime thing, but it was so successful that they’re making 10 episodes this year, which is brilliant. It’s a bit scary, I’m playing someone older than me, turning 60, so it’s looking forward, doing some soul-searching!
The Railway Children: 40th Anniversary is released in UK cinemas on 2nd April 2010 and on DVD and Blu-ray on 3rd May by Optimum Releasing.
> Buy the DVD.
Interview conducted on 29th March 2010.
Written by Will Martin.
