Beautiful, Nostalgic And Deeply Moving… This World War II Period Drama Brings Jenny Agutter Back To Her Beloved Railway Children Role More Than 50 Years Later. Set in 1944, the story follows three children evacuated from Manchester to the Yorkshire countryside, where their search for safety takes an unexpected turn after they discover an injured American soldier hiding near the railway. With Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay joining Agutter, viewers have praised its heartfelt story of courage, resilience and family, calling it “beautifully told,” “inspirational” and a worthy return to a much-loved British classic.

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Jenny Agutter Returns to Her Most Beloved Role More Than 50 Years Later in The Railway Children Return

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For generations of viewers, Jenny Agutter will always be remembered for one unforgettable railway moment: standing beside the tracks and desperately waving a red petticoat to warn an approaching train. More than half a century after The Railway Children became a British family classic, the Call the Midwife star returned to that world for a sequel that transports the story into the heart of World War II.

Released in 2022, The Railway Children Return brings Agutter back as Bobbie Waterbury, the character she first played in the 1968 BBC television adaptation and again in the celebrated 1970 film. This time, Bobbie is older, has a family of her own and finds herself helping a new generation of children displaced by war.

Alongside Agutter, the period family drama features Sheridan Smith, Tom Courtenay and Game of Thrones actor John Bradley.

A New Generation Arrives at the Railway

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Set in 1944, The Railway Children Return shifts the story to Britain during the final stages of the Second World War.

With major cities facing the dangers of wartime bombing, siblings Lily, Pattie and Ted Watts are evacuated from Manchester and sent by train to the Yorkshire village of Oakworth. The children leave behind the world they know in the hope of finding greater safety in the countryside.

Waiting for them are Bobbie Waterbury, her daughter Annie and Bobbie’s grandson Thomas. Jenny Agutter reprises the role of Bobbie, while Sheridan Smith plays Annie and Austin Haynes appears as Thomas.

The arrangement brings the young evacuees into the same railway landscape that defined Bobbie’s childhood decades earlier.

But their new life does not remain peaceful for long.

While exploring the area, the children discover an injured young American soldier named Abe hiding near the railway sidings. Like them, he is far from home — and his circumstances place the children at the center of a much bigger situation.

Their decision to help him turns their wartime refuge into an adventure involving friendship, courage and difficult choices.

Jenny Agutter Steps Back Into Bobbie’s Life

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Agutter’s return gives the sequel a particularly strong connection to the original.

She first portrayed Roberta “Bobbie” Waterbury in the BBC’s 1968 adaptation of E. Nesbit’s story before returning to the character for Lionel Jeffries’ 1970 film. Three decades later, she appeared in ITV’s 2000 adaptation, although this time she played the children’s mother rather than Bobbie.

Then came The Railway Children Return.

More than 50 years after the 1970 film, Agutter once again became Bobbie, now experiencing the railway through the eyes of another generation.

The sequel does not simply recreate the original story. Instead, it uses the familiar setting and characters as the foundation for a new wartime adventure.

The British Film Institute described the production as a long-awaited follow-up, with Agutter revisiting her iconic character more than five decades later.

For audiences who primarily know Agutter as Sister Julienne in Call the Midwife, the movie also offers a reminder of a role that became an important part of her career long before she arrived at Nonnatus House.

Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay Join the Story

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Agutter is surrounded by a strong British ensemble.

Sheridan Smith plays Bobbie’s adult daughter Annie, while Tom Courtenay appears as Uncle Walter. John Bradley takes the role of station master Richard Perks.

The younger cast includes Beau Gadsdon as Lily Watts, Eden Hamilton as Pattie Watts and Zac Cudby as Ted Watts. Austin Haynes plays Thomas, while KJ Aikens portrays Abe, the American soldier whose discovery changes the children’s adventure.

Rather than relying entirely on nostalgia, the film places these new characters at the heart of the story while allowing Agutter’s Bobbie to connect the two generations.

Returning to Yorkshire

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN

That connection extends beyond the characters.

Like its predecessor, The Railway Children Return was filmed around the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in West Yorkshire. Production began in May 2021 and brought the franchise back to the landscape so closely associated with the original film.

The sequel was directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Morgan Matthews, with a screenplay by Danny Brocklehurst. Producer Jemma Rodgers developed the original treatment for the film.

Rodgers has explained that the idea was partly inspired by her adopted daughter’s reaction to learning about Britain’s wartime evacuee children at school. That connection helped inspire the concept of an older Bobbie encountering children who had been separated from their families and sent by train to live somewhere unfamiliar.

It provided a natural way to return to the railway while telling a story rooted in a very different period of British history.

More Than a Nostalgic Return

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At its heart, The Railway Children Return retains many of the qualities associated with its predecessor: childhood adventure, family, community and the importance of helping someone who finds themselves far from home.

But the 1944 setting also allows the sequel to explore wartime evacuation and other social issues through the experiences of its young characters.

The BFI described the film as “big-hearted” while noting the ways its nostalgic approach intersects with more complicated historical themes.

Audience reactions quoted in the original article were particularly enthusiastic, with viewers praising the acting, photography and emotional themes of resilience, courage and forming family connections during difficult circumstances.

For longtime fans, however, perhaps the movie’s greatest attraction remains remarkably simple: Jenny Agutter standing beside those railway tracks again.

More than five decades after Bobbie Waterbury became one of her defining characters, The Railway Children Return allowed Agutter to revisit her — not by repeating the past, but by passing the adventure to another generation.

The Railway Children Return is a 2022 British family drama directed by Morgan Matthews, starring Jenny Agutter, Sheridan Smith, Tom Courtenay and John Bradley.