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Young Lord of the Flies stars 'still good friends'

Leigh Boobyer,West of Englandand
Charlie Taylor,BBC Radio Somerset
News imageBBC A group of young boys are sat down on a beach on a remote island. They are posing at the camera. One boy is sitting on a rock, putting his thumb up at the camera.BBC
Tom Page-Turner (left) was among 30 boys to star in the hit BBC series

A schoolboy who stars in the BBC's hit Lord of the Flies series has said the young cast are "still good friends".

A four-part adaptation of William Golding's story of British boys descending into tribalism after a plane crash leaves them marooned on a tropical island is currently on TV for the first time.

Tom Page-Turner, 14, who goes to school in Somerset, was among more than 30 boys to travel to Malaysia to star in the series after 7,000 actors initially applied.

He told BBC Radio Somerset the young group would "go swimming or surfing" on days off and he remains friends with some of them.

They filmed on a remote island for six months near Langkawi, which the cast travelled to by speedboat.

"It was really fun. On days off we'd go surfing or swimming," Tom, who starred as Bill, said.

"It was great to meet them, and meet new people. We had a really, really great time."

News imageBBC/Eleven Several members of the boy cast, on an exotic island all looking very glum, ragged and dirty. Some are holding spears made from branches. Most are bare chested. Piggy in the foreground is frowning and looks puzzledBBC/Eleven
The young actors spent months filming on an island in Malaysia

Tom was selected by casting director Nina Gold after agents came to his school, adding it was "out of the blue".

He said: "From day one I've been doing drama and I've found it really fun acting in different ways.

"That came out in Malaysia a lot with Lord of the Flies. It's really fun being a different person at the same time, playing a role."

News imageTom is wearing a pink shirt with a blue ralph lauren logo.He has curly hair and is standing in front of a bush, looking at the camera smiling. He is being hugged from the side by his dad, Greg, who is wearing a green knit jumper. He has his glasses tucked behind his ears, balancing on the top of his head.
Tom's dad Greg said all of the parents were "pinching themselves" while on the shoot

His father Greg said all of the parents on the trip kept pinching themselves to remember they were not on holiday.

"When Tom started acting I wouldn't have any idea we'd be here where we are now, having done a six-month stint in Malaysia to be in a really amazing show which has had so many good reviews," he added.

"To meet lots of people you'd never think of meeting before, and from all parts of the UK, we all got on really well from the moment we arrived at the hotel."

William Golding's famous story was adapted by Bristol's Jack Thorne, who also wrote the Netflix series Adolescence.

Thorne said he felt it was important to provide nuances to the phrase "toxic masculinity", which he does by retelling the story from different perspectives.

All episodes of Lord of the Flies are available now on BBC iPlayer, and the series continues on Sunday at 21:00 on BBC One.

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