A live-action feature film of Mr Benn has been announced, with the character’s creator having lived, and placed him, on a quiet Putney street that residents have since turned into a small, joyful monument to them both.
David McKee, who created Mr Benn in a 1967 book and then as a 13-episode BBC animated series in 1971–72, lived at 54 Festing Road. He placed his fictional character next door, at number 52. The only change was the street name: McKee called it Festive Road in the stories. “I felt the real name sounded too much like festering,” he explained.
The film was announced last week by producers Branwen and Mike Prestwood Smith, Harry Potter producer David Barron, and comedian Jack Whitehall, who is also producing. BAFTA-nominated Kirk Jones, whose credits include Nanny McPhee and Waking Ned Devine, will write and direct. Casting begins later this year, with production targeted for 2027.
Mr Benn follows an ordinary man in a bowler hat who visits a fancy dress shop, tries on a costume, and is transported to a different world for each of the 13 episodes. The series has never left the national consciousness in the five decades since it first aired.
McKee died in 2022, but his family’s statement on the announcement connects the film directly to SW15, noting they are thrilled to have Kirk Jones on board to guide it.
The street itself has become a quietly affectionate memorial to the character and his creator. In November 2009, with McKee present, residents installed an engraved paving stone at the junction of Festing Road and Lower Richmond Road. Hugh Thompson, who lives at number 54, raised £500 from neighbours to pay for it. At the unveiling, McKee was characteristically wry: “They always said I was stoned when I wrote the Mr Benn stories — now I am.”
The stone is very faded these days, but the street’s attachment to the character has not dimmed. In 2017, residents petitioned and paid for a footpath connecting Festing Road to Ashlone Road to be named Festive Walk. The total cost was £900; McKee himself contributed £500. Writing to the council at the time, he described Festing Road as the best of all the places he had ever lived: “friendly, quiet and humane in proportions.” He added that having a path named Festive Walk was “an honour for Mr Benn and myself.”
The film announcement is not the first time a live-action Mr Benn has been attempted. A 1999 version with John Hannah in the title role and Ben Kingsley as the shopkeeper was announced but never made.
This time, the McKee family are confident. They are “really excited about going back to Festive Road, where we grew up.”
The faded paving stone is at the junction of Festing Road and Lower Richmond Road. It reads: “Festive Road. Home of David McKee And His Creation, Mr Benn.” Festive Walk is at the other end and runs from there to Ashlone Road.
