{{Short description|1978 British children's TV series}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | runtime = | director = Dorothea Brooking | starring = Sarah Sutton | creator = Brian Hayles | producer = Anna Home | presenter = | country = United Kingdom | network = BBC1 | num_series = 1 | num_episodes = 6 | first_aired = {{start date|1978}} | last_aired = {{end date|1978}} | related = }}
'''''The Moon Stallion''''' is a British children's television serial made by the BBC in 1978 and written by Brian Hayles, who also authored its novelisation.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Moon Stallion|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/33258/The-Moon-Stallion/overview|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305210812/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/33258/The-Moon-Stallion/overview|archivedate=5 March 2016|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="A">Bramwell, Peter. ''Pagan Themes in Modern Children's Fiction''.London, Palgrave Macmillan. {{ISBN|9780230236899}} (pg. 173-4)</ref><ref name="B">{{cite book |author-link=David Pringle |editor-first=David |editor-last=Pringle |title=The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy |page=106 |location=London |publisher=Carlton |year=2006 |isbn=1-84442-110-4}}</ref>
The series stars Sarah Sutton as Diana Purwell, a young blind girl who becomes embroiled in mystical intrigue set around the Berkshire and Wiltshire countryside.
==Plot==
Set in the late Victorian era, the story tells of how the Purwell family travel to Wiltshire when the widowed father is contacted by Sir George Mortenhurze, local squire and a former cavalry officer, to seek out historical evidence of King Arthur. Professor Purwell takes his two children, Diana and Paul, with him.
Arriving at the railway station they are collected by the squire's groom, 'Todman', and driven by pony and trap to his estate. On the way they briefly encounter the Moon Stallion, a white horse living wild on the downs, whom Diana is aware of despite her being blind. It transpires that the horse is the mystical messenger of Epona, goddess of the Moon and horses; the horse is also connected to the story of Merlin.<ref name="A" />
Diana and Paul, with Estelle the daughter of Sir George, discover that Mortenhurze and Todman seek to capture the horse. Todman, who it turns out is a "horse warlock", desires the power it would offer him as consort to the moon goddess, while the squire blames the horse for his wife's death and seeks revenge.
==Cast==
* James Greene as Professor Purwell * Sarah Sutton as Diana Purwell * David Pullan as Paul Purwell * John Abineri as Sir George Mortenhurze * Caroline Goodall as Estelle Mortenhurze (daughter of Sir John) * David Haig as Todman * Richard Viner as 'The Dark Rider' * Michael Kilgarriff as The Green King
==Principal locations== * Uffington White Horse * Wayland's Smithy
==Reception== The book ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' described ''The Moon Stallion'' as "an intriguing serial." It also stated that "Hayles' script was one of the most accomplished fantasies specifically written for television".<ref name="B" />
==Novelisation== Brian Hayles wrote a novelisation of ''The Moon Stallion'' in 1978; it was published by Mirror Books.
In 2015, Fantom Publishing republished Hayles' novelisation, along with novelisations of ''Children of the Stones'', ''Raven'' and ''Sky''.<ref>"Cult Classics", ''Vortex'' Magazine, April 2015. (p.4)</ref>
==Adaptation== ''Tammy'' adapted ''The Moon Stallion'' as a comic strip in 1978; it was illustrated by Mario Capaldi.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
==See also== * The Horseman's Word *Toadman
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0134256|title=The Moon Stallion}} * {{Screenonline TV title|id=1383693}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027185122/http://au.geocities.com/freycinette/moonstallion.html Screencaps and multimedia] *[http://www.the-mausoleum-club.org.uk/timescreen/Trial%203/moonepg.htm Episode guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004247/http://www.the-mausoleum-club.org.uk/timescreen/Trial%203/moonepg.htm |date=27 September 2007 }} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050218191854/http://eofftv.com/m/moo/moon_stallion_main.htm Detailed production information and credits]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Stallion, The}} Category:BBC children's television shows Category:British supernatural television shows Category:1970s British children's television series Category:Works by Brian Hayles Category:Celtic mythology in popular culture