Sheridan Smith was "hysterical" when cast in The Railway Children Return
Smith was especially excited about playing Jenny Agutter's daughter in the new sequel.
Sheridan Smith has revealed she was "hysterical" when she found out she'd been cast in The Railway Children Return.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the star explained that her entire family had been huge fans of the original – and said that she was especially excited to be playing the daughter of Jenny Agutter's character Bobbie Waterbury.
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"I watched it with my mum and dad, who were huge fans of it," she said of her memories of watching the first film. "And it was usually at Christmas that we watched it.
"So there's so much nostalgia – and when I got the phone call saying that they were doing The Railway Children Return and that I would be having the opportunity to be Jenny Agutter's daughter, it was quite hysterical in our house, especially with my family.
"So it's been a real honour to be part of this film."
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Although Smith and Agutter have key roles in the film, the main focus is on a brand new generation of railway children – who are played by an impressive cast of child actors.
And Smith said that she thoroughly enjoyed getting the chance to work with the young stars, who she described as "wonderful".
"They're amazing children, all of them – they're not precocious at all," she said. "They became a real little genuine gang, and there were proper genuine friendships there.
"So much that when I arrived, they were, like, writing little notes on my make-up desk, and they welcomed me in. And then Jenny arrived – it was like royalty arriving!
"But it was all just very... it felt right. It was really genuine and hopefully what you see on screen comes across because it was a proper friendship between the kids and they were amazing in it."
The Railway Children Return is released in UK cinemas on Friday 15th July 2022. Visit our Movies hub for the latest news and features, or find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide.
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