A LEADING actor in a horror adaptation of a much-loved children’s character was “swept of his feet” after it went viral.

Craig David Dowsett, from Burnham, is starring in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

The film is a horror adaptation of AA Milne’s classic children’s tale, made by Jagged Edge Productions (JEP).

It follows children's favourites Pooh and Piglet, who have become feral and bloodthirsty murderers and terrorise an adult Christopher Robin when he returns to the Hundred Acre Wood many years after leaving to go to college.

After the 1926 Winnie the Pooh book entered the public domain in the US last January, the characters were free to use, as long as they remained different from the Disney ones.

Maldon and Burnham Standard: Craig David Dowsett, from Burnham, is starring in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and HoneyCraig David Dowsett, from Burnham, is starring in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (Image: Ross Miller/Shinning Through Photography)

Craig featured in a previous film by JEP – The Area 51 Incident.

He was told about the film and that they were casting for Pooh, and how his size and stature suited the role.

He said: “I saw the script and it seemed lots of fun.

“We started filming around last April at Ashdown Forest in Kent - the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood.

“We shot it in about 12 days.”

When first images and news broke, the film blew up, with the first trailer amassing millions of views.

Since then, Craig has attended a world premiere in Mexico, a US launch in LA and a UK launch in Glasgow at Frightfest last Friday.

Maldon and Burnham Standard: Winnie the Pooh and Piglet are now bloodthirsty murderers in the filmWinnie the Pooh and Piglet are now bloodthirsty murderers in the film (Image: Jagged Edge Productions/Altitude)

Craig said he remains unfazed by some of the poor reviews and added he hopes to hold a Burnham event soon.

He said: “Reviews don’t bother me. People forget it was never designed for cinema release.

"We never expected it to go viral - it really swept me off my feet when it did.

“Major critics have had a field day but it almost got too much hype. It is just a low-budget indie film - not a blockbuster.

“General fans have enjoyed it. They have been happy and had fun with it.

“I live in Burnham, and it will be showing at the Rio Cinema.

“When I know the dates, I’ll go with friends and family and have a Burnham premiere.

“We are then hoping to start shooting the sequel in June, July time, with a much bigger budget, and all I can say is we might have some new characters joining us.”