‘Calm down’ Jane McDonald giddy with excitement over childhood crush

Jane McDonald gets excited when meeting actor Chris Witty

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In a recent Channel 5 episode, Jane McDonald took her viewers on a tour around her home of Yorkshire, looking back at memories from her childhood. Whilst in Hampstead, Jane took a trip on an old-fashioned train which tracked along a line which was seen in the 1970 film The Railway Children. On her journey, she was joined by actor Chris Witty and became flustered after admitting he was her childhood crush.

Making her way onto the train, Jane exclaimed: “My train’s the nostalgia express, and to make it even better I am going to meet a star of the film, one of my teenage heartthrobs no less.

“Every year 100,000 tourists ride this line, and you can see why can’t you. The lovely thing about these trains is that they have lovely springs in the upholstery so you bounce, so it is like you have suspension.

“And I love the fact that you can actually see the driver, that is something you don’t get now, they are behind closed doors, it is very old-fashioned and very cosy, and you can see this beautiful county.”

Excited about who was joining her for the journey, she admitted: “It ticks every box for me and that is not all because today I am following the route of one of my favourite films, The Railway Children.

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“I am about to meet one of the stars, Chris Witty, the child actor who put a smile on Jenny Agutter’s face when her character was pining for her missing dad.

“Confession time, he put a smile on my face too. Oh, here he is, he is the heartthrob of the whole film! So lovely to meet you, thank you for coming! Come and sit down.”

Taking a seat next to Jane, Chris looked around the train and quipped: “This takes me back!”

Looking red-faced and giddy to be sat next to him, Jane joked: “Calm down Jane, it’s just your school girl crush, don’t start gabbling!”

Speaking to Chris about her passion for the film, Jane expressed: “I can do the script because I have seen it that many times and I just love it.

“It’s about an innocent time as well and things were so different and I love how they have everything just exactly how it was!”

The scene which Jane loved the most, sees Chris playing a running game with a friend and following them into a tunnel, as she described the moment as “heart-stopping”.

Wanting to know more about the scene, Chris revealed: “Well the tunnel is very short and you can see from one end to the other.

“So in order to make it look dark and damp, they sort of blocked off one end of it. This is it, so I ran in that way and then the scene was all back there! Can you see how short it is?”

One scene Jane admitted to staying with her was when Chris’s character, Jim, hurt his leg and just about managed to pull it off the rail before a train drove past.

Chris explained the scene will always be his favourite: “I was lying down with my leg on the line watching this huge great engine!

“It is funny because you do all those shots and cuts away and when you see it all put together you go ‘oh wow is that what happened?’

“I still get notes from people on social media asking if I am ok,” he revealed.

The trip around Yorkshire saw Jane look back through her childhood and the memories she made with her parents and brother Tony.

As well as The Railway Children, Jane also visited the iconic Last of the Summer Wine set with Nora Batty’s house and took a trip to Scarborough fair where she spoke of fond memories.

Jane McDonald: My Yorkshire is available to watch on My5.

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