This film was responsible for creating the phrase "lashings of ginger beer" which was drunk by the Famous Five with their picnics. The phrase is now inextricably linked with the Famous Five and many people wrongly think that it dates back as far as Enid Blyton's original books, although it does not appear in any book.
This programme aired as part of the first night of Channel 4.
Rik Mayall was originally intended to have an unspecified role in this episode but had to decline as he was busy with Ben Elton writing the scripts for the first season of The Young Ones (1982-84).