The Famous Five The Eye Of The Sunrise - Meet the guest cast (2024)

Nicolas Winding Refn (byNWR) and Matthew Read (Moonage Pictures) bring Enid Blyton’s classics to life with a new and fresh reimagining of the iconic stories.

Joining the cast for the third episode, The Famous Five - The Eye Of The Sunrise, are Jason Flemyng (Snatch) as circus magician the Great Supremo and Art Malik (True Lies) as Sir Lincoln Aubrey.

It’s late August 1939 and George comes across the Great Supremo who is on the run from malevolent pursuers. She manages to convince her cousins that they should protect him and the Five hide him in their den where he tells them about a powerful treasure he guards, the Eye of the Sunrise.

But the Five’s promise proves impossible to keep as Dr Rosamund Graves and her burly assistant Bradley arrive from the local psychiatric institute to take Supremo away. He’s not just a magician, he’s a psychiatric patient. Can the Five trust anything he says?

But George believes in Supremo and she wonders if Dr Graves’ care is really in the Supremo’s best interest?

In an action-packed episode, the Five take on another epic adventure as the circus comes to town and they must contend with new adversaries, a terrifying new threat and an old enemy now offering the hand of friendship.

George is played by Diaana Babnicova, Julian by Elliott Rose, Dick by Kit Rakusen, Anne by Flora Jacoby Richardson, Jo by Tilly Walker, Dr Graves by Emma Paetz, Bradley by Arthur Sylense, Wentworth by Jack Gleeson, Fanny by Ann Akinjirin and Quentin by James Lance.

The Famous Five is a BBC commission in co-production with German ZDF and in association with The Mediapro Studio for Spain, Portugal and Latin America. BBC Studios, who have a minority investment in Moonage Pictures, are distributing the series internationally.

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• Watch The Famous Five - The Eye Of The Sunrise on BBC iPlayer from Saturday 25 May, on CBBC on Sunday 26 May and on BBC One on Monday 27 May
• Watch episode one: The Curse of Kirrin Island and episode two: Perils of the Night Train on iPlayer now

Meet the guest cast

Could you tell us a little bit about The Great Supremo?

The Great Supremo is very flawed but charismatic and he’s a genuinely good man. He comes into the kids’ lives, he’s fun and kind. He’s a flawed rapscallion. His daughter Jo is a mysterious character and she’s the key to the whole mystery.

How’s it been playing a circus performer and an illusionist?

It’s fun, the kids are great. The scripts are good, solid and fun and they’ve allowed me to add my… to ‘Fleminise it’ so I’m having fun doing that.

A secret I’m telling only you… most characters I play are just me in different costumes. So that’s what I mean by ‘Fleminising’ something. If it’s period I just sit up a bit straighter and if it’s gangster I just snarl a bit more, but it’s basically Jason!

Tell us about the Eye of the Sunrise?

The Eye is a crystal which the Great Supremo has used in order to create a show and to create a living. The whole livelihood of him and his family is based on this crystal.

What’s it like working with the kids?

The kids are great. I’ve got twin boys who are 12, it happened quite late so I was really blessed that I had a couple of kids. I do love being around kids and mucking around with them, probably being a big kid myself.

Have you had to think about how you balance the light and dark within the episode?

Originally, Enid Blyton’s Famous Five was a very jovial and light affair, but kids are much more exposed and educated now when it comes to dealing with their emotions. I know that from my own 12-year-olds and what scares them and what doesn’t. It’s not what you think it is.

Kids nowadays have an emotional intelligence, you can’t patronise them, they’ll take to darkness and they’ll take to stuff that helps them to explore their own feelings. I think with children’s TV, there’s a sophistication, kids are used to a certain level of quality and a certain level of production value.

What is it about this re-imagining that kids are going to like?

Because of the stories being told and the script, it’s been enlivened and re-invigorated. I know there’s a great buzz about it and I think it’s going to be really successful. The kids feel very modern, I think it’s exciting, I’m really glad to be part of it.

What do you hope people take away?

There’s an emotional maturity to the story, about mental health, and about the war – which kids are so fluent in now, they’re so aware of. There’s a maturity and depth to this story which I think is important.

If you were going to be one of the five, who would that be?

George, George, George!

Art Malik (Sir Lincoln Aubrey)

Tell us a little bit about Sir Lincoln Aubrey?

He has set up an institute to deal with mental illness. The story is around one of our patients escaping and there seems to be a question mark, as far as the Famous Five are concerned, about whether he should be in this institute or not. Their instincts are right, that’s all I’m going to say.

Tell us about Aubrey’s relationship with Dr Graves?

Aubrey’s not in any way a therapist or a medical person. He’s just a very rich businessman whose son died and he decided that after the First World War, there was so much trauma that had existed amongst the soldiers who came back, he wanted to create a safe haven for them. Dr Graves was introduced to him and she’s one of the best.

Do you think Aubrey and Dr Graves have met their match with the Famous Five?

I think anybody who tries to take on the Famous Five – if you’re trying to do something which is a little bit wrong – and the Famous Five are around the corner, it’s never going to work. They’re just brilliant and they’ve got a dog! There’s nothing you can do against four children and a dog.

This episode mixes light and dark, is that something you’ve thought about?

The reason I’m doing this is because I’ve got children and grandchildren. I loved knowing that my grandchildren could see something that I’ve done. Being involved in a story which comes from a children’s book and from such an acclaimed children’s writer as Enid Blyton, it’s a no brainer. We can take on these books from the past, take ownership of them, make them modern and make them accessible to all children, which I hope we are doing.

How do you think they’re being made fresh?

The scripts are very modern, very contemporary and they’re set in the landscape we all know and love which is the South West, but we’re also reinventing the period for the audience of today.

If you were going to be one of the five, who would that be?

I’d be Timmy the dog because everybody adores him and who doesn’t want to be adored?

Are there any scenes which stood out to you?

I’d loved to have been involved in the scenes at the circus, that would have been a wonderful place to shoot. Unfortunately I’m not in those, though I am in some brilliant scenes.

What’s it like working with the young cast?

They’re extraordinary aren’t they? The joy of being an actor, and I’ve been doing it for nearly 50 years, is you have an instant relationship with another actor which suddenly comes from nowhere. You’re supposed to be friends and you’ve never met them, but by the end of the day you’ve created a little family of actors. I’m constantly delighted.

Do you think there is something for everyone in this show?

Of course there is. If your children put this on, sit with them and watch it. If you’re watching it, get the kids in.

Emma Paetz (Dr Graves)

What three things should we know about Dr Graves?

She’s very smart and dedicated but you probably shouldn’t trust her.

Tell us more about Dr Graves?

Dr Graves is a psychiatrist and she works for the Greenpoint Institute. She’s very ambitious and she really cares about her patients. You could say she’s a baddie or you could say she’s misguided, that she’s not going about it in the right way. She’s got such clear intentions and strong convictions, she’s really fun to play.

What do you think her motivations are?

She’s seen some pretty traumatic things with her patients, specifically with PTSD that they experienced after the First World War, and she’s just trying to find a way to help people. She’s really influenced by these developing ideas from Jung and Freud, she believes very passionately that she can help people. She has really zeroed in on how she’s going to help people and is not focussing on the harm that she’s doing to others.

Have they met their match in The Famous Five?

Definitely, Dr Graves and Sir Lincoln Aubrey are no match for The Famous Five!

What three words would you use to describe The Famous Five?

Courageous, inventive and loyal.

Would you say you’re similar to any of the Five?

I wouldn’t say I’m similar to any of them specifically but something about running around in all these countryside locations does remind me of when I was a kid. I grew up in a neighbourhood with a gang of kids my age and we all rode around on our bikes until it got dark.

The Famous Five is so well-known, how is it being made fresh and new for modern audiences?

I think what’s new and fresh about it comes from the scripts. It is set as a period piece but the way they speak to each other and relate to each other is familiar to us, it doesn’t feel separate and divided from us in time, it feels very immediate.

Did you have a favourite scene?

I’m really enjoying the circus scenes. I really like it whenever you get to do something where there’s a lot of crowd work and costumes, hair and make-up. There’s a sense of adventure for us filming it, there are so many different locations we’re going to. We’ve been in the studio and in the Welsh countryside, they are such beautiful spots that you feel like you don’t have to work that hard to lock into an adventurous tone.

Which locations have you been to?

We were outside Abergavenny, which is the cottage exteriors of their house, with beautiful hillsides, sheep, rabbits and a lot of wasps.

We’re at Giffords Circus which is a real circus. A lot of the circus performers are the supporting artists in our scenes, there’s a fire-breather and a lot of ponies – the ponies have their own hair and make-up – and amazing acrobats who have been doing their own routines.

What do you hope people feel when they watch?

I hope it makes people feel good, you’re very easily transported. It’s very wholesome and familiar.