Jenny Agutter reprising role in The Railway Children Return 50 years after original movie

It’s been over half a century since the much-loved British family film The Railway Children was released. And today Studio Canal have announced a sequel called The Railway Children Return, which is set to start shooting next week. The original film’s star Jenny Agutter will be reprising her role of Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Waterbury.

The long-awaited sequel will co-star Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay plus a new generation of Railway Children.

A plot synopsis reads: “Inspired by one of the most beloved British family films of all time, THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN is an enchanting adventure for a new generation bringing a contemporary sensibility to a classic story and combining British cast with stunning locations.

“THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN will take audiences on an exciting and heart-warming journey, in which a group of children are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during World War 2, where they encounter a young soldier, who like them, is far away from home…”

So it looks like the sequel will be swapping the Edwardian setting of the original for a few decades later, just like Mary Poppins Returns – which landed in cinemas 54 years after the first movie.

READ MORE: You’ll never guess what Phyllis from The Railway Children looks like

The Railway Children was originally a 1906 children’s book by Edith Nesbit.

The plot saw a family move from London to The Three Chimneys house near a railway after their father is imprisoned on false charges of spying.

The kids known as Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis become friends with a person known as The Old Gentleman, who often takes the 9:15 train near their home.

And it is he who goes on to help prove their father’s innocence and reunite the family.

Meanwhile, The Railway Children sees them taking care of a Russian exile called Mr Szczepansky, who came to England looking for his family.

While they also look after Jim, the grandson of The Old Gentleman, who breaks his leg in a tunnel.

The first adaptation of the story was a BBC radio dramatisation for Children’s Hour, which was first broadcast in 1940, while a TV remake came out in 2000.

Interestingly this year, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a sequel called The Saving of Albert Perks, featuring a monologue by Bernard Cribbins. The storyline saw an adult Bobbie return to Oakworth with two Jewish refugee children who had escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport.