The Railway Children sequel announced with Jenny Agutter to star alongside Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay

Jenny Agutter will reprise her role as Roberta 'Bobbie' Waterbury from the first film, and she's joined in the cast by Sheridan Smith, Tom Courtenay, and a "new generation of Railway Children".

Production on the film is set to begin imminently, on Monday 10th May, and will include several locations used in the original film, including Oakworth Station, Haworth, The Bronte Parsonage and the iconic Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

The sequel, titled The Railway Children Return, will be set during the Second World War, following a group of children who are evacuated to a Yorkshire village and encounter a young soldier who is also far away from home.

There is plenty of award-winning talent involved in the project, with both director Morgan Matthew and writer Danny Brocklehurst having previously received BAFTAs, so it looks to be in safe hands.

A release date of 1st April 2022 has already been revealed by StudioCanal, meaning fans have less than a year to wait until those familiar locations can be seen on the big screen once again.

The original The Railway Children was released in cinemas in 1970 and has become one of the most popular British films of all time, with several generations having been charmed by the antics of the Waterbury kids.

Based on the 1906 novel of the same name by E. Nesbit, the film has been included on many lists of the best British films of all time – so the sequel certainly has quite a reputation to live up to.

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