THIS
STORY LAST UPDATED:
26 September 2005 1439 BST
The
Legend of the Tamworth Two on TV
The
notorious Tamworth Two
This
little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed at home and
this little piggy went... on the run, with a friend, all over the
Wiltshire countryside.
Wiltshire's notorious fugitives, the Tamworth Two become TV stars.
VIDEO
and AUDIO
Click
here to listen to an interview
with Carl Sadler who caught the porky pair back in 1998
(28k)
Remember
the story of the Tamworth Two who notoriously cheated death when they
broke out of a Malmesbury abattoir and spent a week on the run in
January 1998?
Well now the tale of the two plucky pigs who saved their bacon has
been turned into a new comedy drama for BBC1.
'The Legend of the Tamworth Two', starring Kevin Whately (Auf Wiedersehen,
Pet), Gerard Horan (London's Burning), Emma Pierson (Charles II),
and Darren Boyd (Kiss Me Kate), is based on Wiltshire's most famous
fugitives Butch and Sundance.
Opening with the run-away pigs death-defying escape the drama unfolds
as
local journalist
Jenny Best (played by Emma Pierson) picks up the story and in next
to no time a whole media circus erupts to help her and the local Police
track them down.
As the
pigs continue to evade capture, the evil slaughterhouse boss Wolf
(Kevin Whately) arrives on the scene to hunt the pigs down and take
them back to the abattoir where they will surely face the butcher...
For those
who want to save the pigs it's a race against time to rescue them
from imminent death.
1
of 6
- Butch and Sundance
2
of 6
- Gerard Horan (London's Burning)
3
of 6
- The Great Escape
4
of 6
- Both real pigs and animatronics
were used
5
of 6 - Filmed
on location in the Isle of Man
6
of 6
- Animatronics pig in make-up!
Filmed
on location in the Isle of Man, the production uses both real pigs
(eight real Tamworth pigs to be exact) and newly developed CGI to
animate piggy expressions and speech.
The animation effects, overseen by the
producer of Walking with Dinosaurs, are the same used in films
like Cats & Dogs, Stuart Little and Babe.
INTERVIEW
Click
here to listen to an interview with Carl Sadler who
caught the porky pair back in 1998
For
BBC Executive producer, Sally Woodward, the story shows how hypocritical
people are:
"The film tells how the story of Butch and Sundance became
a legend, of how Britain once again took the under-dog to their
hearts - or in this instance, the under-pig - and in the process
briefly made them the most famous fugitives in the world.
"It
also shows how contrary human beings are in their relationship with
animals - how we are only too happy to tuck in to a pork chop, but
are outraged when we want to capture a pig that has stolen our heart."
Although
the story follows Butch and Sundance the production has, according
to Executive producer Justin Thomson-Glover, strayed a little from
the truth:
"This film is loosely based on what the real Butch and Sundance
went through, but we have taken a few liberties with the story -
and given the pigs voices."
When
the pigs were finally captured, they were bought by a national newspaper
and moved to a rare breeds centre in Kent, where they still live
today in 'Tamworth Towers'.
The
Legend of the Tamworth Two is on BBC ONE on Easter Monday, 12 April
2004, at 6.30pm.
The Legend of the Tamworth Two 
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