Wallace & Gromit creators underestimated fan reaction to Feathers McGraw return

And now, after "languishing" in prison after 30 years, revenge is the only thing on Feathers's mind and in classic Wallace & Gromit fashion, plenty of drama lies ahead.

But why, after 30 years, is Feathers McGraw making a comeback? Well in an exclusive interview, creator Nick Park told RadioTimes.com that Feathers returning was for "purely story reasons" and hadn't expected the sheer enormity of public reaction to the news.

He explained: "I admit we've been quite overwhelmed by the reaction of how much there was almost expectation for it and why [we] hadn't done it before now."

As for where the idea came from to reintroduce Feathers, Park explained further: "It started off as a half hour idea with just a smaller idea where Wallace invented a smart gnome. There are always gnomes around Wallace and Gromit's house, so it's not a big step to get there and all the antics that would follow.

"But it was kind of lacking. It needed some sense of menace, it needed real motivation and there was Feathers on the shelf with his beady eyes and the perfect gift really."

Park added: "It's really because that's what the story needed."

It wasn't just fans of Wallace & Gromit who were excited by the return of Feathers, with those at Aardman equally chilled by the idea.

Speaking at Deadline's Contenders London event back in October, executive producer Carla Shelley admitted that "the whole room got chills" when Feathers was revealed to be back.

"When Nick shared with the rest of us in the studio that Wallace was inventing a smart gnome, we all got quite excited," Shelley explained. "A little later on in the process, when he revealed that Feathers was going to come back, the whole room got chills."

But just what is Feathers up to and how does he come back into the lives of Wallace and Gromit?

Well, audiences will have to stay tuned on Christmas Day over on BBC One.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day at 6:10pm.

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