The nativity reborn: Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse, reveals how his time as a shepherd led him to dream up his magical take on the Christmas story

Scan through the TV schedules at Christmas time and you’ll find yuletide tales of every sort; horror, comedy, murder and drama. But it’s not every year the real story of Christmas is retold; the story of the first Christmas.

It will be this year though with the BBC’s On Angel Wings, an animated Nativity story with a difference based on a book written by best-selling children’s author Michael Morpurgo. 

‘The story of Christ’s birth is the best story about Christmas ever written, but because we all know it so well I think people shy away from seeing it again,’ says Michael. ‘They think it’s been done and dusted, so they move onto Santa and snowmen. But it’s a good story to retell; it makes us remember what the whole thing is about.’

Morpurgo says that the Nativity is the best Christmas story of all and it rarely gets told 

Morpurgo says that the Nativity is the best Christmas story of all and it rarely gets told 

Michael, 71, counts himself a Christian but says it was a moment of doubt that led him to rewrite the story of the shepherds being told about the birth of Jesus by the Angel Gabriel. ‘My stories always come to me through little coincidences and moments,’ he laughs as he thinks back. 

‘I live in a small village in the middle of Devon and every year we have a Christmas carol service. If I’m around they very kindly ask me to read one of the lessons, and the one I always like is about the shepherds.

‘So there I was, about ten years ago, reading this story I knew so well when I realised there was something that didn’t quite work. When the Angel Gabriel comes to the shepherds in the night and tells them a saviour has been born and they should really go and see this baby who’ll be the prince of peace, they just go and there’s no mention of their flocks. 

'But I’ve been a farmer and a shepherd and I know one thing: you can’t move sheep at night because you wouldn’t be able to herd them in the dark, you’d lose them. So I began to think that if the shepherds couldn’t take their sheep with them, would they have left them alone on the hillside for the jackals and wolves to attack? You’ve got to be kidding. It doesn’t work.

‘But what if they’d left someone behind to watch them, a young shepherd boy? And that’s when I started thinking about my own story of the young shepherd boy who was left alone. He’s pretty miffed because he wants to go with the other shepherds too, so he screams out into the night sky, “It’s not fair!” The Angel Gabriel comes back down and says, “You’re right – I’ll fly you there and the angels will watch over the sheep.” 

'It’s a spurious notion, but I tend to judge stories by their credibility and this particular story you want to believe. I think it’s good to reinvigorate old stories so people maybe smile a bit and think about it a bit harder.’

Michael counts himself a Christian but says it was a moment of doubt that led him to rewrite some of the famous story

Michael counts himself a Christian but says it was a moment of doubt that led him to rewrite some of the famous story

Michael started his working life as a teacher and would concoct stories to keep his pupils interested in his lessons. He’s since written more than 100 books, including War Horse and I Believe In Unicorns, and is a former Children’s Laureate. He now runs a charity encouraging inner-city children to enrich their lives by spending time on farms. 

Many of his books have been adapted and this latest one was spotted by Christian production company Jerusalem Productions, who called Iain Harvey, the producer of the classic Christmas hit The Snowman, and asked if he’d be interested in making it into a film. A script was written and Iain and Michael then agreed a deal over a drink in the pub.

The striking cartoon took a year to make and features the voice of Michael Gambon as the shepherd boy, Amos, who’s now an old man recounting the story to his grandchildren. ‘The grandfather character is me in a way,’ says writer Michael. 

‘I often put myself into the fabric of a story as the narrator. I’m usually the grandfather telling the story to a young person and I’ve done that ever since I was young. Now I don’t need to pretend to be old.’

On Angel Wings also stars Dominic Cooper as the ‘cool’ Angel Gabriel. ‘I wanted him to be a strong character, partly because I’ve never found angels to be so,’ laughs Michael. ‘It’s a lovely notion that if we’re good we go up to heaven and sprout wings and fly around. It would be nice to think there are guardian angels around us. It’s a powerful idea that we’re being looked after, guided through our lives.’

Michael’s good friend Juliet Stevenson, a long-time supporter of his charity work, plays the part of Mary. Juliet and Michael have staged a concert performance of On Angel Wings with a cappella group Voices At The Door for the past few years at cathedrals all over the country and will be performing it tonight at St Luke’s Church in London’s Chelsea. 

‘It always amazes me when some phenomenal actor or director is interested in my work,’ says the author modestly. ‘I always think, “Why would they care about something that came out of my head?” Juliet and Michael Gambon are among the greatest actors of our time so it feels like a real coup to have them on board. But I think because I tell important stories, especially this one, is perhaps why they came to it.’

He always has mixed feelings about adaptations though. ‘I think the best thing in this film isn’t even in my book; it’s when the angel flies the shepherd boy into outer space and they look down on this wonderful planet they live on and talk about peace and goodwill. I loved the inventiveness. But whenever someone adapts your work and changes something – whether it’s Steven Spielberg [who made the film version of War Horse] or anyone else – there are always moments where you think, “Why did they do it like that?”’

Dominic Cooper takes on the role of the 'cool' Angel Gabriel
Michael's old friend Juliet Stevenson voices Mary

Dominic Cooper (left) takes on the role of the 'cool' Angel Gabriel where Michael's old friend Juliet Stevenson (right) voices Mary

He hopes On Angel Wings will remind viewers about the real spirit of Christmas. ‘A lot of people don’t connect Christmas today with that first story,’ he says. 

‘But we get together as families and give presents and the giving is important. There’s a lot of wittering on about commercialism but that doesn’t mean that the day has no purpose. It’s a way of reminding us what should be important. It’s all about love and showing affection for people around us and sometimes that only happens at Christmas. It’s a time to remind ourselves that peace, goodwill and love are, or should be, central to our lives and we don’t need to be Christian to understand that.’

As a storyteller obsessed with the veracity of a tale he wants to believe in the story of Jesus but he admits that he can’t fully commit to it. ‘There’s quite a lot about Christianity I want to believe but don’t,’ he says quietly. 

‘The heart of it, love your neighbour as yourself, is something I really do believe in. But the details of the story don’t add up. We know precious little of the man, the stories we know were told hundreds of years after he died. But the messages he spoke are as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago. 

'Some very great people, people I have the utmost respect for, believe in those stories. I respect that hugely and I only wish I could believe as much as they do. I am a Christian but I struggle with my belief all the time. I’d love to be able to embrace all of it but I can’t.

‘The Nativity story, though, is an example of a way in which you can have faith even if you don’t completely believe with a capital B. It’s either something you believe in absolutely or it’s simply a wonderful parable about hope and a new child and goodwill in the world. Either interpretation is fine by me.’ 

He says the central message of peace in all religions should never be forgotten. ‘If people believe too earnestly every word that was written 2,000 years ago and stick to it too rigidly then that belief becomes rigid. It’s terribly sad, it’s not religion that’s wrong, it’s how we all interpret it.’

This Christmas Michael will be at home in Devon with his family after a quick trip to Ypres in Belgium, where an abridged version of War Horse will be performed at the Christmas Truce concert. On Christmas morning he’ll be in church listening to the Nativity story which so inspired him. 

‘I still love the idea of the angel appearing to these rather rough-hewn shepherds on the hillside; I’ve always been more attracted to shepherds than I have to wise men,’ he laughs. ‘It’s a great story that’s been told millions of times, which means it must have some universal relevance for us all.’ 

On Angel Wings, Christmas Eve, 4.15pm, BBC1.