Gwendoline Christie, Jessica Hynes and Rafe Spall start filming Swallows and Amazons film
Harry Enfield and Kelly Macdonald are also on the set of the classic childhood adventure story, with six young newcomers including Lily Allen's half-sister Teddie-Rise Malleson-Allen
Arthur Ransome's classic childhood adventure story Swallows and Amazons is starting to come to life. Filming has begun on the movie, which will be shot this summer in Yorkshire and the Lake District, while the movie, directed by Call the Midwife's Philippa Lowthorpe, now boasts an impressive cast.
Rafe Spall, who was previously confirmed to play Captain Flint, will be joined on set by Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie, Boardwalk Empire's Kelly Macdonald, W1A's Jessica Hynes and comedian Harry Enfield.
Hynes and Enfield will play farmers Mr and Mrs Jackson, while Christie and Macdonald will star as Mrs Blacknett and Mrs Walker, the mothers of the tale's adventurous and imaginative children.
The Walker and Blackett children themselves are set to be played by six young newcomers, including Lily Allen's half-sister Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen. Teddie-Rose, who is Keith Allen and actress Tamzin Malleson's daughter, will play Tatty Walker. Dane Hughes (John Walker), Orla Hill (Susan Walker), Bobby McColloch (Roger Walker), Seren Hawkes (Nancy Blackett) and Hannah Jayne Thorp (Peggy Blackett) make up the rest of the gang.
Swallows and Amazons follows the Walker children as they dream of escaping a summer holiday with their mother. They set off on a boat to camp on a remote island in the middle of a lake, but when they get there they soon discover they are not alone on the island.
"Watching the young actors learn to sail so brilliantly in our Swallow and Amazon, as we prepare for the shoot, has been a great thrill. I can’t wait to bring this world of pure adventure to life," says director Philippa Lowthorpe.
