THE classic Sixties film Whistle Down The Wind ensured that two Ribble Valley children were captured on celluloid forever.

Freckle-faced Alan Barnes, then just seven, and Diane Holgate, 10, were plucked from the playground of Chatburn School to star alongside Hayley Mills and Alan Bates.

Filmed in and around Downham village, the 1961 tale of children who mistake an escaped convict for Jesus is still regularly shown on television.

Now multi-millionaire producer Andrew Lloyd Webber and hit songwriter Jim Steinman - the man behind many of Meatloaf's greatest hits - have joined forces to turn the film into a stage musical.

They hope it will follow in the footsteps of smashes like Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph, Evita and Sunset Boulevard.

However, the early signs are not good for the adaptation, which substitutes Louisiana for rainswept East Lancashire.

The Stateside version opened in Washington DC but Lloyd-Webber pulled the show before it was due to transfer to Broadway. It is now being re-worked ready for its London premiere at the end of June.

And unlike the lavish party thrown for the premiere of Sunset Boulevard, Lloyd Webber is understood to have banned a big pre-show bash.

"If we have a hit we will have a modest party a year later," he is reported as saying. News of the musical brings back fond memories for Diane, who is now married with two daughters and running a livery business on land near Northwich, Cheshire, owned by hit record producer Pete Waterman.

But 48-year-old Diane - now Diane Poole - was not surprised it was not a massive success in America.

She said: "I don't understand why it did not open in Britain first, as it is a British film.

"The Americans are so different to us culturally, it does not seem to be a logical place to open it, but it's hard to know when you've not seen the show."

Diane recalls that director Bryan Forbes and producer Richard Attenborough staked all they had when they made the film which launched their careers.

"It was their first film and it was really make or break," she said. "They mortgaged everything to do it and that's why it was in black and white - they could not afford colour film!"

She added: "It was hard work because you were there from 8 am to 8 pm many times. There was a lot of hanging about."

Diane said she would love to see the musical but was not expecting to get an invitation to the opening night.

Alan Barnes, 45, now runs a double glazing business in Ribchester and is married with two grown-up children of his own.

But he said he was not really interested in the new show.

"It's all a long time ago," confessed Alan. "I've no idea whether it will be a success or not."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.