Families of Sir Nicholas Winton’s kinder invited to recreate TV history
Makers of a film about the Holocaust hero are set to recreate the BBC1 scene where he came face to face with those he helped rescue – inviting their relatives to take part.
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
The makers of a film about Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton are set to recreate the television scene where he came face to face with dozens of children he helped to rescue – and are inviting their relatives to take part.
The 1988 episode of That’s Life! in which Esther Rantzen asked anyone in the audience who was among the 669 children that he helped bring to the UK from Czechoslovakia to identify themselves, and the entire audience stood up, has become one of the most celebrated moments in BBC history.
Winton had not spoken publicly of his pre-war exploits, which included finding sponsor families, but it was the discovery of a scrapbook containing the names of the rescued children that led to the BBC tracking them down and the unexpected on-air reunion.
Now, as part of a theatrical feature length film covering Winton’s heroic story, See-Saw Films will recreate that emotional scene, only this time with the seats surrounding Winton filled by the children and grandchildren of those whose lives were saved 80 years ago.
Producer Joanna Laurie from See-Saw Film, which also produced The King’s Speech, said: “We feel privileged to be able to tell the powerful, emotional story of how Nicholas Winton and others helped to save the lives of so many children, a lot of them Jewish, during the Prague evacuations.
“At See-Saw, whenever we set out to make a film we hope to bring stories to audiences that have something to say about the world. Our film will be a timely reminder of how we and future generations must constantly renew our commitment to human rights. When we stage the recreation of the That’s Life! TV show reunion, it would be very special to reach and welcome many of Nicky’s children and their descendants to take part as audience members.”
In the film, which is unlikely to be released until 2024, Sir Nicholas will be played by Sir Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn, who recently played Ian Fleming in Operation Mincemeat.
Winton, who served as an ambulance driver during the War before joining the RAF, never lost his sense of modesty despite being honoured in both the UK and Czech Republic. He once said of his actions: “Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I just helped a little. I was in the right place at the right time.” He died at the age of 106, after which Jewish News led a successful campaign for him to be remembered with a Royal Mail stamp.
To express interest in taking part please email familyofnickywinton@gmail.com
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
