A beloved fantasy drama that will be returning to screens this .
Based on John Masefield’s 1935 children’s novel The Box of Delights, the TV adaptation aired in November and December 1984 and .
It followed schoolboy Kay Harker (Devin Stanfield) who when returning from boarding for Christmas in 1934 finds himself in the middle of a battle to obtain a magical box.
Meeting the current owner of the box, a man called Cole Hawlings (Patrick Troughton) at a railway station, the pair click and Cole then confides in the young boy that he is being pursued by magician Abner Brown (Robert Stephens) and his gang, which also includes Kay’s former governess.
Among its powers, the box allows the owner to shrink in size, shapeshift, fly, and travel to the past, with Abner and his gang wanting to steal the box and use it for evil purposes.
After Cole entrusts the box to Kay, he goes on to experience adventures across time, meeting figures like King Arthur, Roman soldiers and Father Christmas, while trying to protect the valuable item.
At the time the series was the most expensive children’s show the BBC had ever made, with £1 million spent on the six episodes.
Widely acclaimed, it won several Bafta awards, with several related to its special effects.
It’s now been announced the series will be airing again next month, 40 years after it first hit screens.
The screening of the first episode will also begin with a new introduction from director Renny Rye.
Upon hearing the show would screen again, many fans expressed their delight.
‘Excellent news! That’s some of my Christmas viewing sorted then…’ Vince posted on X.
‘Splendiferous! The Box of Delights is a magical Christmas story! Classic! It should be on the BBC every Christmas! The wolves are running!’ Ryan shared.
‘Excellent Film. Also read the book,’ Pauline added.
Despite the show’s massive budget, which Renny said ‘was unheard of at the time for a children’s series’, there were still questions about how to pull off some of the more elaborate scenes.
‘I would just ask if we could afford to do something and if not, I’d find another way,’ he told in 2022.
‘I remember reading the script for the first episode, which includes Punch and Judy man Cole Hawlings riding into a painting and Kay landing in a wolf-besieged Roman encampment on a flying pony, and thinking, “OK, how do we do that?” These things just weren’t possible in those days, but the technology was changing daily, and the BBC was building an electronics workshop we were allowed to use. I ended up spending almost six months in there,’ he explained.
Meanwhile Devin recalled putting himself forward to stunts, insisting he could ride bareback despite only ever having been on a horse ‘a handful of times’.
After starring in The Box of Delights he auditioned for the lead role in Steven Spielberg’s 1988 film Empire of the Sun but lost out to Christian Bale.
He then decided to give up his acting career and instead now works behind the camera as a production manager and technical director.
The Box of Delights will air on Saturday December 7 at 7.10pm on BBC Four.
