It was a really nice film to make in that way because the emotional journey was mirrored by the physical journey as well.” But if it was raining on this one, we carried on and filmed in the rain. “It’s different, because normally if it rains it is a great crisis and everyone has to stop. “Because we were filming chronologically, if it was raining, we filmed in the rain, which is refreshing,” Jim Broadbent said in an exclusive interview with Digital Spy. While the story in the movie may not be true, the cast and crew of the screen adaptation did walk past and film at many of the landmarks and towns featured on Harold’s journey, and the movie was also filmed in chronological order so they followed the route in the book – no matter the weather.

That's a distance of more than 870 miles – so hopefully the brave walkers who have attempted this were wearing more suitable shoes than Harold's. Of course, many people have walked the length of England just like Harold – though usually for charity, and often taking an even longer route, from John O'Groats in the north to Land's End in the south. But both happened, and while they did I wrote this story about a man who sets off to save someone else. I was appalled at the idea of watching him die.

“I was appalled at the idea of not having my father. “He had spent years battling cancer, and after several brutal operations, surgeons told him there was nothing left to be done. “I began writing this as a radio play when my father told me he was dying,” she said (via BookBrowse). While Harold, Queenie and Maureen may not be real people, Joyce has spoken about how she was inspired to write the book by her own father. “People often do ask questions about Harold as if he were a real person,” she said. In an interview with The Guardian in 2014, Joyce revealed that many readers did believe the story was true. It’s actually based on the novel of the same name that was written by Rachel Joyce and published in 2012. Harold’s inspirational story certainly sounds like it is based on real events, but in fact it is not a true story.

The unlikely spy book review