Uncategorized – Page 2 – Sophie Neville

An interview with the writer Sophie Neville by Allison Symes

Sophie Neville as Titty by Caroline Assheton

Swallows and Amazons, the well-loved children’s classic, was released in cinemas in April 1974. After fifty years, it has been screened on television more than any other British film and is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Having also appeared in the BBC play Cider With Rosie, Sophie went on to appear in Animal Magic, Crossroads, The Two Ronnies, and had a leading part in an adventure movie, The Copter Kids, opposite Sophie Ward and Derek Fowlds.

I remember Swallows and Amazons, and The Two Ronnies in particular. I loved their Charley Farley and Piggy Malone series in which Sophie appeared.

After directing plays at university, Sophie won a contract on the Graduate Trainee Scheme and worked in television production, assisting on Doctor Who (I am a life-long fan) Eastenders, the police series Rockcliffe’s Babies, and the first BBC adaptation of My Family and Other Animals made on Corfu. She filmed the wartime drama Bluebell in Paris and directed the animation and visual effects sequences for Through the Dragon’s Eye. She went on to produce an INSET series, directed a number of comedy dramas for BBC Schools Television and ended up working on well over a hundred different television programmes.

In 1985, Sophie drove from London to Johannesburg, making her first documentary for Channel 4. In 1992, she emigrated to Southern Africa where she set up a couple of BBC wildlife series and a Blue Peter Summer Special. She bought a horse, lived on different game reserves and spent time between contracts writing stories illustrated with sketches made while working for friends as a safari guide.

Sophie is now working on the third edition of her filmography The Making of Swallows and Amazons, which is already out on audio. Her Christian memoir Funnily Enough won 3^rd prize in the International Rubery Book Award. She is republishing this illustrated paperback and the sequel Ride The Wings of Morning with Resolute Books.

Do also check out her YouTube book trailers. Links given at the end of the interview. Sophie gives talks on a number of subjects, often speaking at yacht clubs, the Southampton International Boat Show and literary events.

This year, 2024, saw the 50th anniversary of Swallows and Amazons being released in cinemas. Fans gathered for screenings with Q&As at the Cinema Museum, and Windermere Jetty in Cumbria when Sophie was interviewed by John Sergeant.

If anyone could be said to fully embrace the creative life, it is Sophie Neville. She has won seven awards for screenwriting in the last few weeks.

Sophie, your incredible career exudes creativity. What are the joys of creativity for you?

I’ve always enjoyed making things and feel called to leave a legacy of illustrated stories.

What have been your favourite things about your acting and production work?

I loved being on location with a creative team of designers. Having worked with the Oscar-winning set dresser Ian Whittaker as a child, I enjoyed working with props at the BBC. These included a number of animals from an Indian Elephant on board a ferry in Harwich to a tortoise that made rather a mess of my unit car.

How have the different aspects of your work fed into one another?

Acting in films and in television as a girl gave me invaluable experience when it came to writing screenplays. I spent so much time in rehearsal rooms in my twenties that I find script writing easier than putting novels together. It was my job to record the time of each scene with a stopwatch and report back to our script editor who would compare lengths with the read-through. I’m guilty of writing rather short scenes now and wish that I’d kept some of our old scripts, which show the edits. However my mother kept numerous scripts. I have two for Prime Suspect, and other television series she appeared in. We found copies of the original Swallows and Amazons script adapted by David Wood. All the added jeopardy he must have worked so hard to include was cut along with a scene that featured Virginia McKenna, but stories take on their own pace and most of the best scenes can have no dialogue at all. Swallows and Amazons is a landscape movie with a little girl saying, ‘I’ve got her, I’ve got her.’ Those words were never scripted. They exploded from my mouth after lying alone in a damp dinghy on Derwentwater. It’s often the simplest lines that make a movie. The best line of all time in any movie must be, ‘My daddy, my daddy!’

Sophie Neville aged ten by Caroline Assheton

I first wrote for television at the age of twenty-two when working on Russell Harty’s Christmas Party. It was a disaster. My idea for a pantomime theme was accepted, and worked well, but I only took a rough draft of the dialogue to the rehearsal room. Nicholas Parsons re-wrote it on the spot, which was mortifying. Esther Rantzen carried the musical number for me by sheer force of character. I’d asked her to arrive in Dick Whittington costume, which was a great success. No one knew what fabulous legs she had until the moment she came on to sing with the studio audience. No one knew that the lettering on the song sheet lowered was still wet. I’d had to grab a paintbrush and improve it within minutes of going on air. It was literally a matter of writing for television – 7.00pm on BBC One.

There is a lot of preparation behind-the-scenes for talks. Do you find this easier to do now?

Preparation, preparation, preparation, with an extra speech up your sleeve. I needed I.T. lessons in how to load up a Point Presentation but soon learnt to gain momentum and dramatic effect by pre-empting my slides. This requires memorising the order. I can use up to 120 for a 45-minute talk but the images release me from the need for notes. I use a couple of short films or book trailers while people are talking their seats if I need to establish an atmosphere in a large venue. Simple things like asking for blinds to be drawn or testing the mic is vital. I always ask what colour the seats are. I once turned up in a dress that merged me with the curtains and tablecloths until I became almost totally camouflaged. All you can see in the photos is my head. I once wore a baby-pink coat to venue where all the walls were orange. I thought it would be safe to wear navy blue and white for the next yacht club talk only to find myself standing in front of blue and white striped curtains that matched what I was wearing exactly. I should have worn the pink.

What have you found are the most useful tips for public speaking?

I am a volunteer speaker for Bible Society who give us media training, which is invaluable. It’s good to have three points lined up and a couple of funny stories when you are interviewed on the radio. It’s best if you can prepare the presenter by providing them with bullet point information about books or events you are publicising, otherwise the best opportunity for plugging something is right at the beginning of the interview. I had the opportunity to appear on BBC Antiques Roadshow in 2021 and simply answered the questions. What I should have said was, “I kept a diary that I felt compelled to bring out as an illustrated paperback. It’s now available online….” Of course advertising is forbidden, and will almost certainly be cut out, but I could have kept one of the books in my hand. Visual aids are always effective. Prepare a basketful.

Did the pandemic get in the way of giving talks or have things like Zoom made more things possible?

Lockdown introduced me to Zoom, which has been a blessing, although I’ve had my fill. While Covid restrictions swept away my plans for public speaking, I gave a number of author interviews that are now on Youtube, and read a children’s book for BBC Radio Suffolk.

You are a patron of the UK Wild Otter Trust. How did you get involved with this?

My family kept tame otters for forty years. Our mission was to raise awareness about the need for pure water and undisturbed habitat. I began talking to crowds of people at country fairs, which is good experience for any speaker as the questions can be bizarre. The otters we were asked to hand-rear acted as ambassadors for their species while we delivered facts by telling stories in whatever ways we could, a bit like a safari guide. I ended up being photographed with the Prince of Wales and a naughty otter for the front page of the Daily Telegraph.

I was able to write about living with otters in Funnily Enough. This amused the editor of iBelieve magazine who published double page extracts for eleven months. The tame otters appeared on a huge number of television programmes from detective serials to movies such as Scottish Mussel, a rom-com written, directed by and starring Tallulah Riley. We made that on location near Dunoon in 2015. Otter wranglers are not given much credit but it got the conservation message across to audiences who might never watch wildlife programmes. The film is now streaming online. You can guess how wet I got chasing otters through boggy woodland.

What does the UK Wild Otter Trust aim to do?

The UK Wild Otter Trust is based in North Devon where they look after rescued otters and orphaned cubs before releasing them back into the wild. The trust offers advice to fish farms, anglers and game keepers, helping landowners to build holts. It’s a great charity to support. Back in 1982, wild otter populations in England and Wales had dwindled to about 150 pairs. You now need to take care when driving by rivers at night as young males are expanding into new territories. They don’t like swimming under road bridges.

You kept a diary of your time while filming Swallows and Amazons. Can you recall how easy or otherwise it was to keep that going? What drove you to keep a diary? Also do you keep a diary related to your work now?

Swallows and Amazons was made during the summer term, so we girls kept diaries on location as part of our schoolwork. My mother was very keen on this. I started writing a journal when we went to Tanzania in 1972 and I kept diaries whilst at boarding school. Perhaps I should type them up, but I fear they are not terribly interesting. “Alex was sick in needlework,” is about as sensational as it gets.

My granny taught me how to knit and sew. I find it helps to compare the craft of constructing stories to embroidery or knitting with different colours. You can stitch in extracts from diaries or letters. I’m darning a few holes right now, but once accomplished the garments will be ready to wear straight away.

Other than Arthur Ransome’s wonderful work, which other authors have made an impact on you, both as a child and as an adult? Why do you think this is? Also what do you most enjoy reading? What do you think the benefits of reading are for writers?

I read a lot of memoirs, many of which are self-published. They have provided me with extraordinary facts and stories that I’ve been able to weave into my novels set in the 20^th century.

Hundreds of authors have inspired me from James Herriot, Jilly Cooper and Helen Fielding to CS Lewis, Adrian Plass and Catherine Fox but Laurie Lee, Gerald Durrell and Arthur Ransome have probably influenced me more than others as I’ve spent so long working on adaptations of their books. I also worked on the dramatised biographies of the dancer Margaret Kelly (Bluebell), the zoo vet David Taylor (One by One) and The Diary of Anne Frank.

You wrote Funnily Enough based on your experience of struggling with chronic fatigue. Was that a book you just felt you had to write? How hard was it to be so open about ME? Did you find writing the book therapeutic? I was touched to read the reviews showing many found reading the book to help them that way.

I returned from completing a Discipleship Training Course with YWAM – Youth With a Mission – wanting to deliver my testimony in an amusing way but got stuck until I found the illustrated diary that I’d kept when I fell ill with ME. I withdrew it from the bookshelf feeling led to lay everything else aside and type it up.

A story behind the story: Having spent weeks putting the first draft of Funnily Enough onto a disc, my bag was stollen in the Masai Mara. It was pretty dramatic. I woke to find my safari tent had been slashed open while I’d been asleep. Everyone was shocked but I felt compelled to look for the bag, which I found discarded in a ditch. My binoculars and Psion (I’d naively assumed that I could write a book on palmtop) were missing but I retrieved the disc. I was able to begin editing the manuscript on a shiny new PC that had been donated to a primary school where I lived in South Africa. I gave the headmistress lessons on how to use Microsoft Word and worked on Funnily Enough whilst she was busy teaching. She asked me to look after the computer over the Christmas holidays, which enabled me to keep writing until I could afford to buy a new laptop. After three years, the palmtop was returned by a Masai student at university in Alaska. He had opened my Psion to see that I’d been helping the people of Africa by writing newsletters for Waterberg for Jesus.

Memoirs are inevitably exposing, especially if you are taking about your faith. I knew that in order to be of real help to readers, I needed to put my soul on the page, but tried not to embarrass my friends. Thankfully, Mum let me write whatever was entertaining and is happy to bear the brunt of my jokes. This shocked a few Christian readers until they watched her on an outrageous series of Come Dine With Me and an episode of Chanel 4’s Obsessive Cleaners that featured me in de-cluttering mode. Notes of sympathy poured in, unaware that Mum was playing to the camera and loving the attention. She is eighty-eight now and still wants to appear in movies. ‘You must write a starring role for me!’

We had a little miracle with Funnily Enough when it reached No. 2 in all categories for free Kindle downloads in the UK. I gave away 16,000 e-copies. I was thanked by some stinky reviews from atheists but as John Wesley said, you have to expect a few rotten tomatoes. I laughed a great deal writing that book. There are one or two stories that still have me in fits. I could hardly narrate the audiobook. People say that Ride the Wings of Morning also has them laughing out loud. The best bits are letters written by my sisters. It’s a love story – but of love between family and friends rather than artificial romance. My (then) boyfriend was furious when he saw an early draft, but he later wrote from Afghanistan to say how much he loved it and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. He spent nine years looking after snow leopards in the mountains so enjoyed looking back on our mad adventures in Southern Africa. I hope it helped him survive the isolation. Writing has certainly helped me to get my thoughts in order and fulfilled an urge to record the best moments in life before they evaporate.

You’ve travelled a lot. How easy or otherwise have you found it to readjust back to life in the UK? Have you been able to use travelling time to write? Or do you have to block out times to write when you are at home?

My great love is long-distance riding. I’ve ridden horses down the coast of Uruguay, across South America, through the Okavango, Ethiopia, Georgia, and across the Namib Desert. I set up wildlife documentaries in Botswana, Namibia and Natal, taking on the research for a Blue Peter exploration of South Africa.

I settled on the south coast of England when I got married in 2004 but was immediately confronted by a crisis that could not be laughed off. There was a terrible accident when we were on honeymoon in southern Spain. My husband was accused of negligent homicide. He was released by the magistrate, and a second judge but I spent the next six years preparing for a civil case (one summons to court after another thanks to endless postponements). I tried to process the angst by writing about what happened but ground to a halt as it would have been disrespectful to bring in humour. Perhaps one day I will be able to use the facts. I now know about shot-induced heart attacks, which I don’t think has been covered on film, and now stress the importance of testing for morning-after alcohol in the blood, which is not carried out in all post mortems overseas.

If your writing is important it will usually surpass other busy-ness. I ended up bringing out my first two books while renovating our house. We had no roof, but there I was, working with my formatter and toddling off to the London Book Show. I now find it best to write between five and nine in the morning but the networking involved in presenting the finished product takes me out and about. I’ve given over one hundred talks and have a full diary of festivals and events this year. My husband wants to move to a retirement village so that I can travel more.

I put together a number of scripts and PR announcements while I worked in television but didn’t begin writing books and feature articles until I was forty. It was a lovely occupation to have in the African bush. Roald Dahl claimed he only wrote for four hours a day, and yet was highly productive. I hang on to that advise when boring admin and accounts crowd out the rest of the day.

How did you find going from writing books to writing scripts? Two very different disciplines there. What would you say were the advantages of both forms? What have you found the most frustrating elements to both forms (I should imagine there are some!)?

We need to use our strengths. I’m good at concepts, writing dialogue and knitting the plot together, which can be easier with a script. I enjoy innovative structure but building that can be exhausting. Plot holes usually force one to find a new twist, and twists are in high demand these days, but the whole business boils down to patience and tenacity. Push out boundaries and you are bound to get as many rejections, especially if you are a Christian writer, but persevere and all the pruning has to bear richer fruit. I’m just a craftsman used to working to deadlines.

I remember walking down Lime Grove in Shepheard’s Bush wondering how on Earth I was going to edit three fly-on-the wall documentaries I’d just shot for the BBC when I remembered that Jesus was a carpenter and knew how to fit things together. I would be nowhere without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

I admire anyone who has any talent for art. Your artwork is amazing. Do you find working on any art to be soothing, a challenge, or a mixture? An obvious question perhaps but how do you find the time? What does art mean to you? Do you find it feeds into your writing?

I worked as a professional wildlife artist in southern Africa between freelance television contracts. At one point I was selling twenty pieces of artwork a month. Taking commissions, mounting exhibitions and being interviewed by the Inland Revenue certainly prepared me for the business and discipline of writing on a self-employed basis. I drew a lot of decorative maps and was able to use sketches and unsold artwork to illustrate my books. If you own the copyright to your own book cover you can get it made up into cards and mugs. I sell a few online via Redbubble to publicise my books.

Is there an actor you have not worked with but would love to do so?

Twenty years ago, I wrote a part for Eddie Redmayne who read my script while on a villa holiday with my stepson. The screenplay was optioned and has won a number of writing wards but its an epic and taking so long to sell that Eddie can no longer pass as a nineteen year-old, which is a bit of a pity.

If you were stuck on a desert island for a short period but you were allowed to have eight books with you, which would you choose and why? The Bible and Shakespeare are already there and, as I am a fan, Jane Austen is too.

Eight books full of blank pages and a pen, please. I’d love a paintbox too.

What would you say were the writing tips which have most helped you?

‘Writing is re-writing’. I need to go to draft 100 every time, needing the help of at least three proof-readers before sending anything off.

Last but not least, what themes in stories mean the most to you? The Bible has wonderful stories and the Book of Psalms has fabulous poetry. Many themes have come from here. I once heard an interview with an EastEnders scriptwriter who revealed many of their themes do come from the Bible (and from the little I’ve seen, I would say they’ve used the theme of Cain and Abel as well as Delilah a lot!)

We writers have much to learn from the persistence of biblical scribes and narrators, not forgetting those who lugged around the scrolls. I try to quote from scripture imaginatively. It’s great to be able to draw on so many famous, yet copyright free stories presented to us by the Bible. I’m interested in exploring those that involve slavery but I’m sure it’s the historical romances that sell. I enjoyed reading The Red Tent and love the British movie Nativity!

I’ve enjoyed contributing chapters to the ACW publications Merry Christmas Everyone and Write Well. Perhaps the next one could be a collection of Easter stories. A study of slavery in the Bible might open up discussion and sell well. It’s such a hot topic. Looking at women in the Bible is another option. I’m sure ACW writers would have lots of brilliant ideas.

Sophie loves hearing from readers and appreciates reviews.

The Making of Swallows and Amazons is available direct from the publishers, The Lutterworth Press, from Waterstones, and all the usual online retailers.

Sophie narrated the audiobook copy.

The paperback, illustrated with maps, film stills and behind-the-scenes photos is similar to the multimedia Kindle copy entitled The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons, which includes links to home movie footage taken on location.

Ride the Wings of Morning is an illustrated paperback that will take you to southern Africa where Sophie tells of her adventures working as a safari guide and wildlife artist. It looks fabulous in ebook form as her watercolours are back lit on colour screens. The Kindle ebook sells at £2.99

The large, illustrated paperback can be purchased here.

Resolute Books are re-releasing Funnily Enough in 2025:

The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons:

Ten tips on filming boats

Simon West as John Walker studying the chart before the voyage.

1. It’s good to begin a film with establishing shots that explain what is happening. This could be a chart, a poster, a yacht club, a moored boat or the landscape. Then tell the story, introducing the characters and different boats.

The Swallows on their voyage to Wildcat Island

2. Once you begin filming boats the most important thing is to keep the horizon horizontal.

Simon West and Sophie Neville bring Swallow into the Secret Harbour on Wildcat Island

Alternatively, tilt your camera at a dramatically acute angle – but don’t use compromised shots like the one above.

Dame Virginia McKenna bids the Swallows farewell — Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies – can you spot the safety officer?

3. When you pan – side to side – first plan and rehearse the shot with good opening and ending frames. Hold for a beat on these – it gives you a transition to the next shot in the same way as a comma or full stop.

Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville and Sten Grendon in 'Swallows and Amazons' (1974) — Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville and Sten Grendon in ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974)

Pans look better if the shot moves from left to right, as that is how westeners read.

A pan works best if it’s ‘motivated’ ie follows action. Only pan from right to left if you are following a subject, then let it pass out of shot.

Avoid panning from left to right and back again. Don’t wave the camera around.

Simon West as Captain John sailing Swallow . Sten Grendon plays the Boy Roger

4. Avoid using the zoom unless it is motivated. Tilting the camera works better eg: open on a shot of a boat’s name and tilt up to find the skipper.

5. A general rule is: If the subject is stationary you can move the shot. If the subject is moving, keep the shot still.

6. Low angle shots are atmospheric – try filming at chair height, especially if you are tall.

Suzanna Hamilton as Susan with Sophie Neville as Titty busy writing the ship’s log

7. Close ups and detail are good, especially if there is some movement. eg: burgee flying in the wind.

A montage of close-ups works well to explain what is happening and explain a passage of time.

8. People do well in front of the camera if you give them something intricate to do or look at. Show what they are doing, possibly from a different angle.

9. You will need to film one boat from another. We were lashed to a camera boat to achieve these shots.

Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West sailing Swallow in 1973

10. Make sure your lens is kept clean – or use water droplets for effect. Don’t let your camera get wet but capture the excitement.

Simon West and Suzanna Hamilton at the helm of Swallow with Stephen Grendon

You can read about the adventures had in ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ with further explanations in the DVD Extras of the 40th Anniversary DVD of the 1974 film.

Stills from the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) can be purchased from StudioCanal’s website.

Sophie Neville speaks to The Church Times

“My professional life began at the age of ten when I gained a part in the first BBC adaptation of Cider With Rosie. Two years later, the director, Claude Whatham, invited me to interview for the part of Able Seaman Titty in the EMI film Swallows & Amazons (1974). He never thought to ask if either I, or Virginia McKenna who played my mother, could row a boat but I grew up next a lake in the Cotswolds where I was used to rowing a Thames skiff. In the film I had to row with a massive 35mm Panavision camera in the stern but it was fun. I started rowing more seriously at Durham University and managed to complete the five-hour Voga Longa in Venice on the crew of the Drapers’ shallop.

The Drapers’ Barge ‘Royal Thamesis’ in Venice

I began directing plays at university and won a place on the BBC General Trainee Scheme. After working on The Book Show and the live television chat show Russell Harty, I gained a job casting children on the BBC dramatisation of Coot Club and The Big Six. I then worked on serials such as My Family and Other Animals, Doctor Who, Eastenders and shot the wartime romance Bluebell in Paris before directing comic dramas for BBC Schools Television.

Sophie Neville, in stripy top, on the BBC Studio Director’s Course at BBC Elstree Studios, Borehamwood in 1990

I was twenty-two when I first wrote for television. It was a disaster. My concept was accepted but Nicholas Parsons had to re-write the dialogue. I later put together a few drama documentaries and an INSET series for Schools Television, which worked well. In 2004, I was commissioned to write a feature film about Germans in Africa. Sadly, the producer died but I’ve continued to develop this and written a second screenplay that is currently winning international script awards. Both are based on true stories about the lives of family members who emigrated to East Africa in 1919.

I’ve always been attracted to the wilderness and the amazing people you find there. In 1985, I drove from London to Johannesburg, making my first documentary for Channel 4. In 1992, I emigrated to Southern Africa where I set up a couple of BBC wildlife series and a Blue Peter Summer Special.

I bought a horse, lived on different game reserves and spent time between contracts writing stories illustrated with sketches made while working for friends as a safari guide.

Sophie Neville in the Okavango Delta — In the western Okavango

I’d begun riding at the age of four and had such obstreperous ponies as a child that nothing in the Africa bush daunted me. We had to do most of our own veterinary work in the Okavango Delta. I ended up nursing a stallion who’d been scratched on the rump by a lion and became a great believer in Epsom salts.

I have drawn all my life but only turned professional as a wildlife artist after I broke my pelvis falling off someone’s horse. My grandfather, HW Neville, was a landscape artist who became the first art master at Stowe School after service as a re-mounts officer in WWI. Like him, I took to painting watercolours outdoors, began exhibiting in London, and made enough money at a solo exhibition to go on a YWAM Discipleship Training Course in New Zealand. On returning home, I felt called to adapt a diary I’d once kept into a humorous book entitled Funnily Enough, which was serialised in iBelieve magazine.

I somehow brought out Ride the Wings of Morning, followed by The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons when we were renovating the family home in Hampshire and began writing articles while contributing to non-fiction publications. I now belong to a consortium of Christian writers called Resolute Books, with Ruth Leigh, Clare Dunn, Paul Trembling, Liz Carter and members of the Association of Christian Writers. My paperback on The Making of Swallows and Amazons is published by The Lutterworth Press. They are based in Cambridge where I spoke on writing for the screen at the British Christian Writers’ Conference last year.

We had a little miracle: Funnily Enough, which is a Christian testimony, reached No. 2 in all categories for free Kindle downloads in the UK. It was down-loaded at 250 copies and hour. After giving away 16,000 e-copies, I was in bed, recovering from a horrid biopsy, when a cut-glass crystal trophy arrived in the post: Funnily Enough had won third prize in the International Rubery Book Award.

I love the writing of CS Lewis, Adrian Plass and Catherine Fox, although Arthur Ransome has had the greatest impact on my life. I’ve given over a hundred talks about filming Swallows and Amazons and will be appearing at the Swallows and Amazons Festival at Windermere Jetty in Cumbria this summer. The Arthur Ransome Society – the second biggest literary society in Britain – is bringing along the boats used in the film along. Members of the cast and crew will be able to see the original Amazon owned by members of the Altounyan family, Arthur Ransome’s dinghy Coch-y-Bonddhu and hopefully travel on the MV Tern, which the Swallows nearly crashed into on film.

Sophie Neville author of The Making of Swallows and Amazons

I’ve been representing Bible Society since going on a short-term mission to China in 2011. We visited the Amity Printing Press, various churches and met pastors around the country. Bible distribution is conducted openly, and is both well-organised and joyous. There are often speeches, music and songs, and sometimes free hair cutting or gynae scans for women whose health was compromised by the one-child policy. I’m now Bible Society’s volunteer speaker for the New Forest and Isle of Wight, so let me know if you need a slide show.

I now spend far too much time behind a laptop but live on the South Coast where I take exercise by collecting flotsam. Becoming New Forest Beach Cleaner of the Year was a surprise butlitter gives me plenty to write about. You find the strangest things. There are now about 2,000 Litter Pickers of the New Forest clearing up the National Park before our wildlife chokes to death. They’re all amazing.

Author Sophie Neville awarded 'Litter Picker of the Year 2021' by Litter Pickers of the New Forest — Awarded ‘Litter Picker of the Year’

I met my husband at an archery meeting in Worcestershire. I was fed up with being single and complained to the Lord, asking “Why can’t I marry that man?”. The archer in my sights proposed to me six weeks later. His grandfather had been an Olympic archer who’d introduced my parents to the longbow in the ’sixties. Mum had given the Amazons lessons on how to shoot for the film Swallows and Amazons when we children had all wanted a go. I picked up the basics in the Lake District and became just good enough to gain the leading role as an archery champion in an adventure movie called The Copter Kids when I was fifteen. We now belong to three archery societies and sometimes win the odd trophy. It’s the only word that rhymes with Sophie.

Other answers to prayer have been pretty dramatic. Try taking medicines into a war-torn African country and you’ll find out. Shattered lives, cruelty, destruction and waste make me angry. Litter falls under this category. Fulfilment of potential makes me happy. I like walking along beaches and riding through the wilderness. I love the sound of waves and horses.

The promises of God are what give me hope for the future. I pray for their fulfilment. If locked in a church it would be nice to be with my husband. He’s never ever failed to stop and pray with me but we risk talking about the mundane. The South African intercessor Bernie Mostert would probably use the time most powerfully, but I’m yet to meet him.

There’s an apparent demand for family films and faith-based scripts in America. My own work in progress is called Banana Man – The True Story. It’s about singleness and marriage with humour akin to Debbie Isitt’s film Nativity! starring Martin Freeman. Spare me a prayer. It would be fun it that got off the ground.”

Sophie Neville filming in the Cotswolds — Sophie Neville ~ filming in the Cotswolds

Did the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ change the course of your life?

I continue to hear amazing stories about how the 1974 film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ has influenced people’s lives. Someone wrote to say, ‘This was my favourite movie growing up in Australia and the main reason I ended up moving to the UK!’

Rob Boden talking to Rupert Maas on BBC Antiques Roadshow.

There has been quite a bit in the popular press about what Rupert Maas, the expert on paintings, said of the movie ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) which he saw aged 14. “It’s fair to say it got me into sailing. Just watching the romantic lives of these children in this wonderful summer. It never seemed to rain, the sun was always out…” He ended up crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Simon West as Captain John in Swallows and Amazons 1974

Marc Grimston writes, “I was read the books as bedtime stories when I was too young to read them myself… but when I was taken to see the film, the stories became alive to me. I had not seen the Lake District at that point and the film changed everything. I could visualise the landscape every time I read one of the books, that was due to the film. The characters in the stories now had faces I could recognise in my head from that point on. When I read the books now, the characters are still the same 51 years on. The books, the film and the TV series of Coot Club and The Bix Six gave me a love of boats, camping, the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads.

Krista French “Those books were my part of my childhood escape toolkit.”

Simon Leach saw a poster of the 1974 film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ and said that when it came out, “my family was living in South Australia. After watching this, my parents were so homesick, that we returned to the UK.”

Others comment on how it has given them solace during difficult times. One man wrote to say that he watches ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974) every week.

Fiona Ring said, “It literally shaped my childhood, that was me, I was Titty, the adventures the love for the outdoors. I read and watched it over and over and now it’s even better that I’m reliving it all again with my girls. Travelling up to the lakes each year to find all your secret spots. It’s amazing. Kayaking to wild cat island with our girls in April was a dream come true.”

Sophie Neville as Titty with Suzanna Hamilton as Susan — Sophie Neville with Suzanna Hamilton

Andy Stuart loved Arthur Ransome’s simple book illustrations. “And equally perfect were the the actors in the 1974 film. If I think of the Swallows and Amazons, those are the faces I see when I read the novels in which their characters feature, and my mind’s eye visions of the Norfolk children and the D’s are conjured from who I imagine would have fitted in alongside the original cast. You were all wonderful, Sophie Neville!”

Swallows and Amazons 1974 - Simon West, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Sten Grendon in Secret Harbour — Simon West, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Sten Grendon in Secret Harbour

The author Duncan Hall says, “I can’t remember if I read the books or saw the film first. I don’t remember picturing the Swallows and Amazons differently so I maybe saw the film first? But would have been at a similar time. It sparked a lifetime obsession with the Lakes, boats and stories.”

Lesley Bennett and Kit Seymour as the Amazon pirates dancing with rage on Peel Island — Lesley Bennett and Kit Seymour as the Amazon pirates dancing on Peel Island

Rob Twycross said, “I saw myself in the children in the film. We lived our childhood like that, going off exploring, discovering and learning. Halcyon days that I fear are gone now. It’s lovely to watch it again now and feel young again, if only in my head and heart for a little while!”

Sophie Neville in Swallow — Sophie Neville as Able seaman Titty in Swallow

You can now listen to the story of how the 1974 film was made on location in the Lake District on any of the audio-book platforms, including Audible.

The audiobook of 'The Making of Swallows and Amazons' — The new audiobook

Observations on Children’s literature by members of the Arthur Ransome Group

I have been told that the 1974 film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ has been broadcast on television more than any other British film. Arthur Ransome’s well loved series can be found on the shelves of most book shops. Many of his devoted readers belong to the Arthur Ransome Group on Facebook where they share interesting observations some of which I have collected here:

Jill Goulder was interested to learn that the film of ‘Swallows and Amazons‘ was made with EMI Film’s box office revenue from ‘The Railway Children‘ (1970), the adaptation of E Nesbit’s book starring Jenny Agutter . “So we have ‘The Railway Children‘ partly to thank! I’m thinking about themes in common. A focus on a family of children with father absent and mother in the background; the children fairly realistic (‘The Railway Children‘ may win on points here as the children argue among themselves); beautiful scenery; a key point of interest in the landscape (railway, lake) which influences the plot; male characters who aren’t always amiable but who are basically very attached to the children; an episode involving an accusation (false in the case of the firework, true in the case of the coal theft); etc!” The two films were bought out together on VHS.

Jill later pointed out, “In World War II, spy catchers interrogating possible German spies would check their knowledge of Arthur Ransome as a classic test of Britishness.”

I thought this ironic given the spy themes in The Railway Children and the 2016 film adaptation of Swallows and Amazons. And why did Commander Walker send such cryptic telegrams. Was he more than a Naval Officer? Was his ship really in Malta or on its way to Hong Kong?

Maurice Thomas noted that, “both Ransome and Nesbit (and CS Lewis) liked the fit of two girls and two boys, though the second boy is absent from ‘The Railway Children‘. Both ‘Swallows and Amazons‘ and ‘Five Children and It‘ have a “ship’s baby”. The trope of four seems to go wider, though – four hobbits, for example. I suppose it’s the smallest group where you can have “split quests” that still allow for character dialogue, otherwise it’s just one person and their thoughts. Lewis does it, of course, when Edmund becomes evil, but at least he has Jadis to talk to.”

Tamzin Neville playing Anthea in The Phoenix and the Carpet

My sister Tamzin played Anthea in the 1976 BBC adaptation of The Phoenix and the Carpet, when E Nesbit features a family of five children: two girls, two boys and a baby. The Captain Flint character, who facilitates their adventures, is the Phoenix, his houseboat/the Wildcat is a magic carpet. I wonder if Ransome, who knew E Nesbit, was influenced by this story.

Janet Mearns noted, “Louisa M Alcott’s ‘Little Women’, features four children, all girls but Jo is a forerunner of Nancy, one parent absent. Capt Marryat’s ‘Children of the New Forest’: two boys and two girls living off the land, both parents absent.”

Matthew Jones wrote, “What’s lovely about AR’s stories is how they pull his characters out of gloom (along with his readers) into the world of friends and connection and purpose.”

Simon West as Captain John rowing towards the Landing Place

The question, ‘How old is John Walker in Swallows and Amazons?’ is often typed into Google.

John Fenn expressed an interest in Captain John’s character. “In his illustrations Arthur Ransome found it hard to keep John young enough. I suspect that John was the boy Arthur Ransome wished he had been, easily gaining his father’s approval (especially in ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea‘ and ‘Secret Water’) which was so often withheld from Ransome himself. It’s not surprising he ‘saw’ John as more grown up than he was, and therefore could not keep him young in his illustrations. The upshot is that in the 1974 film it is a shock to us to see a John who looks the age he is supposed to be – about 12.” And yet Simon West, who was only aged 11 when he played Captain John, was adept at handling boats, climbing pine trees and negotiating with adults. He fell easily into the part.

The author Jon Tucker writes, “An enduring children’s book is like an onion – multi-layered. The seven-year old is focused mainly on the action embedded in the narrative. The ten-year old is more aware of the underlying emotions. By a third reading at 13 or 14 years, the more mature teen reader can grasp the inter-relationships between the characters entwined within the outer layers. If the book has real substance, an adult reader will absorb those three layers, with a further understanding of the adult characters’ perspectives.”

“Taking Swallows and Amazons as an example, we adult readers can understand Titty’s slightly apprehensive emotions alone on Wildcat Island, alongside Mother’s somewhat concerned puzzlement on finding her eight/nine-year-old daughter apparently abandoned. We can also reach out to Captain Flint’s realization that he needs to pull out all stops to make amends for his nearly unforgivable behaviour towards John. A huge part of the success of this novel is the battle for Houseboat Bay, with Captain Flint’s endearing actions to put things right. Ransome’s enduring appeal lies in having a readership which has survived into adulthood.”

Michael Shaw said Titty is his daughter’s absolutely favourite character “because she makes everything into an adventure story” but not everyone can cope. Someone commenting elsewhere on Facebook wrote,”I could never read ‘Swallows and Amazons’, because one of the characters was named ‘Titty.’ It pulled me right out of the story. I just could not imagine everyone calling her that.” And yet the character was based on Titty Altounyan, a real person who was known as Titty all her life.

One Arthur Ransome enthusiast wrote: “Random thought, as it’s on @TalkingPicsTV tomorrow, but why has there never been a ‘Swallows and Amazons’ board game? There’s a brilliant strategy game somewhere in there.”

Do add any other thoughts in the comments below.

‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ is now available on as an audio book on all the platforms including Audible where you can listen to a free sample.

‘What is the film of Swallows and Amazons about?’ Nigel H Seymour’s review of the 1974 movie made on location in the Lake District

The Eternal Swallows and Amazons by Nigel H Seymour

I recall being contacted by a friend who had just passed his driving test, and wished to spend a lazy day in the Lake District where he’d insisted on hiring a rowing boat in Bowness on Windermere in order to ‘enjoy the beauty of the lake’. While heading out from the jetty towards the ‘Lily of the valley’ island in rather a clumsy fashion, I was asked. ‘Who do you want to be, the Swallows or the Amazons?’

At a later date I was given the book ‘Swallows and Amazons’ written by Arthur Ransome together with a video and an original vinyl of the music soundtrack. Turning the pages of the 1930 novel was like opening a door to several other worlds for suddenly the lakes swept in like the most refreshing breeze that kindled an inner passion for hills, mountains, lakes, sleepy streams and mists, early morning stillness on the water and sailing adventures.

Watching the film for the first time was a turning point in my rather dull experience of being at school in the north west of England with its drab corridors, gray walls and endless smoking chimneys out to the horizon.

Within a very short time I too have taken a seat on a train en route to the Lake District in 1929 that had a family travelling together in one of those wonderful old carriages consisting of four children and their mother who were to spend a holiday together in a beautiful farmhouse nestling in the trees by the lake.

For some reason William Wordsworth’s immortal words ran through my mind: ‘Beside the lake beneath the trees fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’

The story touches on many human aspects that we all learn to accept as a part of our evolvement into adulthood and which today seems to have got lost in the quest for an increasingly fast world understanding and a computer generated experience.

The joy of the family arriving at the farmhouse and standing there looking out over the glorious Lakeland towards their dream island where it’s hoped they will be able to embark on a camping holiday after receiving permission from their absent father.

The four children, John Susan Titty and Roger Walker, all displayed an individual aspect of evolvement, with Titty engrossed in the book ‘Robinson Crusoe’, using her vivid imagination to create the island realm and keeping a hand written diary, while John seemed to be moving towards a Naval leaning by spending his time learning the basics of Morse code, boat handling and navigation. Young Boy Roger enjoys stuffing himself with anything he can possibly eat, appears to be showing signs of enjoying the great outdoors, and wants more adventure. Susan comes across as the mother figure who thinks about the younger siblings and what they all will be eating while on their adventures.

The story unfolds as the children receive the go ahead in a telegram from their father to sail over to their island to camp in a borrowed dinghy called ‘Swallow’. A burgee is sewn up to fly from the mast depicting a swallow. This news is received with unadulterated delight by the children who immediately begin the preparations.

The lake and mountainous surroundings featured in the film begin to open up as the children undertake their journey to discover sailing rivals in Nancy and Peggy Blackett who live in one of the houses bordering the lake and own a dinghy named ‘Amazon’ that sports a ‘pirate’ burgee.

Initial rivalry erupts between the Walkers and Blacketts, which results in eventual harmony as the two sides join forces to capture a common enemy who just happens to be the Blacketts’ ‘Uncle Jim’ who owns a houseboat on the lake and is busy writing a book.

The Swallows and Amazons decide to host an expedition to capture Jim (‘Captain Flint’) and the houseboat, and, to determine who should be the leader, they make an attempt at capturing each other’s boats.

This requires sailing at night and some pretty shady manoeuvres, which are grievously frowned upon when discovered by the Walkers’ mother when she made a journey to the island to check up on the children and found Titty on her own. John has to confront his mother and explain his reasons to sail in the dark. She reluctantly accepts his explanations but with a proviso that no further actions of this sort will occur again for the remainder of the holiday.

Titty won the day by seizing an opportunity to capture the Amazon boat while the Blackett’s were on Wild Cat Island, making the Walkers the winners. This leads up to the finale where there is a sea battle as the Swallows and Amazons launch an assault on Captain Flint and the houseboat when he is captured and made to walk the plank. The end of the film sees Titty gifted with Flint’s pet parrot who seemed to have taken quite a shine to her, and everyone resolves to be kindred spirits for ever!

After watching this film my mind was transported to the lakes and sharing the beautiful sunny days, crispy clear water and blue skies with the backdrop of the mountains the wooden jetties and a sailing journey into Bowness for supplies. I could sense myself seated in the lugsail rig and feeling the tug on the main sail as the boat crept closer to the wind before going about and heading away onto another tack.

I was carried with the family into that other realm and other time where innocence and responsibility were coming to the fore, where family values were held dear and independence was something young people strove to achieve within the simplicity of their everyday existence. For the brothers and sisters to go camping on a small island in the middle of a lake away from any overseeing adult, and to arrived there by sailing over in a borrowed boat, leaves little to the imagination.

There was a sense of adventure with the children, and a wanting to show they could be responsible and look after themselves, something in today’s society we have to a degree lost touch with. That immortal sense of adventure within a landscape never changes, except within its own light that we know and love today as the Lake District.

This film is a journey into another dimension and another world steeped with love and belonging, adventure and moral understanding, which is shared between a family and accepted.

The characters are bought to life almost as if they are an infinite, integral part of the immortality of the story, each giving that picturesque understanding the viewer finds impossible to explain.

After watching this film one arrives back in real time with a resounding bang! We wonder why such a simple story can create such an iconic understanding, why watching this film can make you feel happy, totally complete and yearning to return again and savour that wonderful, eternal landscape we have all learned to grow and love as The Lakes.

Do think of leaving a review of this film on the International Movie Base site. The link for ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974) is: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072233/

Letters from the film set – written whilst filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in the Lake District in 1973

I’ve been asked to post the hand-written letters that my mother wrote on location while we were making the original film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’. It is amazing they have survived. This was sent to my great aunt who lived on the Solent and knew Buckler’s Hard where Arthur Ransome once moored.

Letter written about the filming of 'Swallows and Amazons'

Mum mentions Claude Whatham, the director, David Blagden our ‘sailing teacher’ who played Sammy the Policeman and Dame Virginia McKenna, the star of the movie who played my mother, Mary Walker.

This must be the cutting from the Daily Mail that I hadn’t seen for more than fifty years and yet remember the photos as being over-exposed. Mum marked me with an X, as in ‘X marks the spot.’

You can find other letters on my previous post.

‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, narrated by Sophie Neville, is now available as an audiobook on all platforms, along with Audible where you can listen to a free sample.

Letters from the Lake District written whilst making the movie ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) that was broadcast on RTE over Easter and is now streaming on Amazon Prime

Whilst clearing out my mother’s house recently we found a few letters written by my parents to my great aunt in June 1973. They report on the progress of making the original EMI movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in the Lake District.

Sophie Neville as Titty Walker with Stephen Grendon as the Boy Roger and Simon West playing Captain John Walker on Derwentwater — Stephen Grendon as the Boy Roger, Sophie Neville as Able-seaman Titty and Simon West playing Captain John Walker beside Derwentwater in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville

My mother had been given headed writing paper designed for members of the production to use on location by Brian Doyle, who managed the film publicity.

It looks as if my father used his children’s felt pens.

It is interesting to learn how much my sisters earned as film extras when they appeared in the scenes shot at Rio (Bowness on Windermere).

Kit Seymour and Jane Grendon watch the filming on the jetty whilst Tamzin and Perry Neville eat ice creams with the one man in Cumbria willing to have a short-back-and-sides. You can just see the period cars parked in the background

They made £5 a day, which was the same amount as the green parrot. I calculated that those of us with leading parts, who he describes as ‘the 6 children’ earned £7.50 a day. This was probably because we were only meant to be on set for a couple of hours. As Dad mentions, I effectively worked twelve-hour days but seemed to be thriving.

Until reading this letter, I didn’t know that the movie (or ‘picture’ as Mum called it) was originally due to be released in time for the Christmas holidays. It was launched in ABC Cinemas but not until April. You can read about the film’s release and premiere at what was then the ABC in Shaftesbury Avenue on my website here.

You can read more in ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’, which is now available in paperback, as an ebook and audiobook narrated by me, Sophie Neville.

‘Doctor Who’ at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, in London

If you go down to Riverside Studios in London you might be in for a surprise. It is on the slipway below Hammersmith Bridge that the first daleks emerged from the River Thames in 1964, intent on invading Earth.

Riverside Studios near Hammersmith Bridge

I’d been invited to a screening of the two-part ‘Doctor Who’ serial ‘Vengeance on Varos’, first broadcast in 1985 when it was watched by 7 million viewers.

After enjoying a very good lunch, I was taken down to the cinema foyer.

There I met up with the lovely actors I’d worked with in 1984 when I was their AFM – Assistant Floor Manager. As a production team we had office 513 in Threshold House above the Post Office on Shepherds Bush Green. The producer, John Nathan Turner and his secretary Sarah Lee shared a double office – 204 Union House, which was part of the same block. The technicians and designers such as Annie Hardinge, our costume designer, and Dorka Nieradzik, our Make Up designer, were based at Television Centre but came over for production meetings. Tony Snowden, our designer, worked out of Room 400 in the scenic block near the vast prop store where he found a questionable chair for the T.A.R.D.I.S. The Visual Effects Department had their own redbrick building on the West Way at North Acton.

I’d been responsible for setting up the read through with our glamorous Production Assistant, Jane Whittacker. It had then been my job to run and organise the rehearsals on the second floor of the BBC Rehearsal Rooms in North Acton where a star-studded canteen could be found on the top floor. Colin Baker remembered it as a tower of creativity that has sadly been torn down. Geraldine Alexander reminded me of the poles I used to mark out the sets, which were pretty abstract in Philip Martin’s script. I’d used coloured tape (rather than chalk) to given an idea of the dimensions on the rehearsal room floor. We had a T.A.R.D.I.S. consul but Colin had to tell me about sonic screwdrivers and blind us with fictional technology.

We had a small office off the rehearsal room where I’d work out call times for the read through, each rehearsal and set everything up for the studio – TC6 at BBC Television Centre where parking was near impossible. The little note book I kept has all the details. Programme ID: 50/LDL/G338P. We recorded one episode on 18th, 19th and 20th July, the other on 31st July, 1st and 2nd August 1984. It was high octane stuff.

It had been my responsibility to provide and look after the action props, prompt the actors and read parts if someone was missing. I’d also time each scene, reporting back to the script editor at the end of each day. You can read more in The Doctor Who Big Blue Podcast.

Sophie Neville with Geraldine Alexander, Nicola Bryant, Stephen Yardley, Colin Baker and Forbes Collins — Sophie Neville with Geraldine Alexander, Nicola Bryant, Stephen Yardley, Colin Baker – the 6th Doctor – and Forbes Collins

Geraldine, Nicola and I were all born in 1960. Geraldine rushed over from the set of ‘Bridgerton’ where she is playing Mrs Wilson in her/their forth season. It is unusual for those working behind the scenes to be photographed with the cast but Who fans appreciate our involvement and know we hold secrets kept for years.

After watching the first episode of ‘Vengeance on Varos’ on the big screen, Stephen Yardley, Forbes Collins and I were invited to speak on stage and answer questions from the audience. Stephen told us that he’d been working as a hod carrier, building the Victoria Line, when he saw auditions being advertised in a copy of The Stage at his library and won his first part as an actor.

I spoke about the Varian knitting I’d invented for his fictional wife played by Shiela Reid and the secret of how the T.A.R.D.I.S. judder was achieved. Philip Martin’s original script had called for rock tunnels but our director Ron Jones had decided that passages lined in iron plating would look more convincing and unusual. We had a ventilation shaft, but no crawling. Ron thought it too corny.

Stephen Yardley, Sophie Neville and Forbes Collins talking about 'Doctor Who' — Stephen Yardley, Sophie Neville and Forbes Collins talking about ‘Doctor Who’

After the Q&A official photographs taken under the auspices of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society who printed them out on the spot.

It was great to meet some of the serious ‘Doctor Who’ fans as we had made the series thinking of what would interest them. I had mentioned that I’d worked with Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton (photos and full disclosure on my last post here) but forgot to tell them that I’d met Tom Baker, the third Doctor, when I’d appeared in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and had invited Peter Davidson on ‘Russell Harty’s Christmas Party’, which I’d set up in 1982 when I was first a graduate trainee at the BBC.

Rob with Sophie Neville, Geraldine Alexander, Nicola Bryant, Stephen Yardley, Colin Baker and Forbes Collins

After a screening of the second episode, Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Geraldine Alexander spoke at a second Q & A. Colin remembered that Nicola’s underwear and red shoes had been stolen from her dressing room halfway through the recording. The memory came storming back to me. It had created quite a panic. I think she had to transmogrify into a bird in a pair that was rather rapidly dyed.

Sadly the actor Nabil Shaban, who had played our monster Sil, was too unwell to come. He’d been a delightful actor to work with, driving in from Aldershot in Hampshire, although he also had a base in Tooting. Nabil had used his wheel chair in the rehearsals, but Ron Jones needed him to ride on something that would have him at head height with the other actors, so he could achieve ‘two-shots’. The Visual Effects Department built an aquarium podium on wheels. I insisted there was a gap at the top of this to show that it was not merely a disguise.

Colin Baker speaking about ‘Doctor Who’ with Nicola Bryant and Geraldine Alexander

I was then invited to sign copies of my books and some beautiful new ‘Doctor Who’ posters, which will be sold to raise money for charity. I already had a fan interested in one, which will benefit The Waterberg Trust. I was joined by our production associate Sue Anstruther who had arrived from BBC Radio to work on the series and look after John Nathan Turner who spent rather too much time in the BBC bar.

Sue Anstruther and Sophie Neville signing books with the help of Alex Moore — Sue Anstruther, Alex Moore and Sophie Neville

The day had taken me back forty years and was most enjoyable. Many thanks go to Alex Moore and all those who organised it so beautifully. You can find more photos on my previous blog post.

I put one, brief story about a sand monster in ‘Doctor Who’ and a few more about working in television in my memoir ‘Funnily Enough’, which is available online as a paperback, ebook or audio book. You can read a sample for free here:

Funnily Enough – the paperback with black and white illustrations

The Doctor Who story ‘Vengeance on Varos’ at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith

On Sunday 9th February 2025, I was invited to join the Projections in Time panel since I worked on ‘Doctor Who’ in the summer of 1984 .

An email arrived with this wonderful invitation:

“Over the last few years, I have been part of a team at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, organising screenings based around a number of television series, but the most popular and regular of these events have been based around Doctor Who.”

“In conjunction with the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the next event at will be a screening celebrating Vengeance on Varos, a Doctor Who story made in the studio at BBC Television Centre.

The story will be shown, followed by Q&As, as well as a photo studio session, in which fans can have a photo with the guests, and an autograph session. So far, Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Nabil Shaban, Gerladine Alexander, Stephen Yardley and Forbes Collins will be joining us. You can buy tickets here.

“I always do my best to include crew at these events as I think they have more of an overall impression.” Apparently those on the production team have been very popular and do well at the autograph table. I’ve been thinking up some stories.

Sophie Neville working on the Doctor Who episodes 'Vengeance on Varos' — Sophie Neville working on the set of Doctor Who in TC6 with Nibil Shaban, Martin Jarvis and Forbes Collins

Below is a plan of the day after, lunch for the guests, with two panels of guests.

“At the autograph table we’ll provide photos to sign, although attendees normally bring their own items. There are normally a handful of posters of the event, which we ask all of the guests to sign, which are then sold for charity.”

The story was recently re-released on a Bluray – with studio footage.

In 1983, I worked for the director Andrew Morgan on the BBC adaptation of Arthur Ransome’s books ‘Coot Club’ and ‘The Big Six’ that was screened under the title ‘Swallows and Amazons Forever!’ and is now available on DVD.

Swallows And Amazons Forever! (Coot Club & The Big Six) SPECIAL EDITION [DVD]

Andrew cast Colin Baker as Doctor Dudgeon. I had found Henry Dimbleby to play his son Tom Dudgeon, the hero of the story.

Colin Baker as Doctor Dudgeon in ‘Coot Club’ – photo Sophie Neville

I also took this photo, below, of Patrick Troughton who played Harry Bangate the eel man in in ‘The Big Six’.

Patrick Troughton playing Harry Bangate the eel man in ‘The Big Six’ – photo Sophie Neville

Many of those working on our crew worked on episodes of Doctor Who at some stage, including Di Brookes, Liz Mace and the sound recordist Colin March. I have written about the Doctor Who connection here. Having read Andrew Morgan’s memoir, I remember that Colin found out that he’d been offered the part of The Doctor while he was with us on location in Norfolk. He was thrilled.

Assistant Make-up Designer Penny Fergusson with John Woodvine who played PC Tedder in ‘Coot Club’, having appeared in ‘Doctor Who’

If we could promise a big enough audience, I could ask if Riverside Studios would host a similar event celebrating ‘Swallows and Amazons Forever!’ Please let me know if you’d be interested in coming in the comments below. I’ll ask Colin Baker if he could come when I see him on 9th February.

Those who played Time Lords had other incarnations. As a researcher, I invited Peter Davidson to sing on the chat show Russell Harty’s Christmas Party, which was fun, and appeared with Tom Baker in Sherlock Holmes. He was brilliant in that role. I wore rather a tight corset.