Screenwriter Nigel Kneale said of his adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's novel: "I didn't use much of [the book]. I used the first ten pages, I think. Then I had an idea which would be more fun to do. It was all about magic by the time I was through with it."
The white dotted muslin gown with long sleeves worn by Jayne Ashbourne (Ellie Nugent) to dinner is the same costume worn by Amira Casar (Catherine) in Sharpe's Siege (1996) (TV).