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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