Sponsor: RAF Control Tower West Rainham in the Travolta film

An old RAF control tower in Norfolk appears in a new short film, starring John Travolta.

The Shepherd, based on a short ghost story by Frederick Forsyth, was filmed in West Rainham, near Fakenham.

The cast and crew descended on the airport and tower, now home to John and Shelley Botti.

The film, released by Disney+, tells the story of a young pilot whose plane runs into trouble, and a mysterious pilot comes to guide him home.

The short story, written by Forsyth in 1975 as a Christmas gift for his wife, is set in 1957 and follows the fortunes or misfortunes of young RAF pilot Freddie Hook, played by Ben Radcliffe.

While returning to England from Germany, his plane suffers an electrical failure – and with the navigational systems down and his radio not working, he believes he will never return to base.

But through the darkness and fog, he sees another plane, piloted by a man who offers to help guide him to safety – “The Shepherd,” played by Travolta.

The airfield at West Raynham is used to depict both the German base, RAF Celle, and the fictional base, RAF Minton, in England.

It was opened in 1939 and closed in 1994.

In 2016, the observation tower was purchased by Mr and Mrs Botti with the intention of turning it into their home, and renovations are still ongoing.

Filming for The Shepherd took place in the spring of last year “and it was right on our doorstep,” Mr. Botti said.

“Seeing Ben Radcliffe walking around outside in his 1950s aviator outfit was like seeing a ghost,” he said.

The group gets even more bizarre with fake snow and fog machines brought in to turn spring conditions into weather more suitable for a Christmas tale.

“But we had two cold nights, so the actors breathing in the night air was real,” he added.

Botti said Travolta, himself a qualified pilot, was “very passionate” about the station's history.

“He fell in love with Forsyth's book because he had a vampire [the De Havilland plane flown by Radcliffe in the film].

“He read the book to his family every year and it became a tradition.”

Travolta bought the rights to the book decades ago with the intention of playing the young pilot, but instead ended up cast in the role of a mentor shepherd.

Mr. and Mrs. Botti hosted both Travolta and Forsyth in their observation tower for publicity interviews taped before the film's release, “in what will one day become our living room,” Mr. Botti said.

“I took pictures at an interview,” he admitted, sharing a photo of himself and his wife with the author and actor.

Some of the planes featured in the film were brought by Historical Squadron of the Norwegian Air ForceBut Butte's own plane – a Hawker Hunter F1, which was based at RAF Base West Rainham in the mid-1950s, also played a role.

“We hope to get the award for best support aircraft, but that probably won't happen,” Botti joked.

With a keen interest in the history of former airfields, the Botti family opens their home to the public several times a year and has created a small café and heritage space displaying items from the old base.

“It's a great location,” Mr. Botti said. “This could really be RAF Minton.”