Fellowes brings Ratty and Toad to the stage . . .

THE adventures of Ratty, Mole, To a d and Badger are coming to the stage in a new musical created by Julian Fellowes and the song-writing team of anthony Drewe and George Stiles. The same team collaborated on the musical Mary Poppins, which i s now embarking on a UK tour. The wind in The willows, based on the 1908 classic by Kenneth Grahame, will open on October 8 next year at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, for a two-week run. it will then be rowed — well, that’s how those woodland dudes liked to get around; they loved their idylls on the river — up to the lowry Theatre in Salford, where it will run from October 28 through november 6, after which it will head into the west end.

Fellowes and his colleagues are already well ahead with the project .

‘ it’s kind of a hymn to friendship,’ said Fellowes, famous for creating the hit ITV show Downton abbey (i’m loving the final series).

‘Friendship is an emotion that gets us through the day,’ he explained, adding that pure friendship is rarely displayed.

He said he, Stiles and Drewe have also created a female character. ‘we’ve invented the Otter’s daughter because there was no girl in it at all, and we couldn’t completely leave women out. Though there’s no love interest, because we must remain true to his idea, i’d rather have it all women than just invent a romance for the sake it.’

He said that the show was ‘all about getting along, which is something our political leaders could observe’. ‘it’s a buddy show,’ said Stiles.

cameron Mackintosh told them not to change the story completely because it is so beloved.

Drewe said that designer Peter McKintosh had already come up with some astonishing designs for the show’s characters. The musical, added Stiles, will cover a wide range of styles including some punk-rock tunes for the wild-wooders. ‘ The baddies always get the best songs,’ he joked.

The creative team, including director Rachel Kavanaugh and producer Jamie Hendry, have already begun the process of searching for stars to play the main roles in next year’s musical tribute to Toad and his pals.