Hayley Mills, star of the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind, has shared her memories of making the film, which was adapted from a novel written by her mother, Mary Hayley Bell. The story, about children who discover a fugitive in their barn and believe him to be Jesus, was brought to the screen by Richard "Dickie" Attenborough and Bryan Forbes, with the setting moved from Sussex to rural Lancashire. Mills's recollections shed light on a beloved British film classic and the unconventional route by which she and other child cast members came to be involved.

Mills recalls being 14 during filming near Downham in Lancashire, having just completed two Disney films in America, and finding the muddy farm conditions a stark contrast. Bryan Forbes directed despite having no prior experience, while Malcolm Arnold composed the score and Attenborough himself provided the whistling heard on the theme tune. Mills also describes being spotted for the role at age 10 when Forbes and Attenborough visited her school, and pays tribute to young co-star Alan Barnes, whose line "It isn't Jesus. It's just a fella" became one of the film's most quoted.