When Chris Columbus was asked what type of child he wanted to play Harry Potter, he used a clip of Daniel Radcliffe from this mini-series, to show them what he wanted.
Harry Lloyd (Young Steerforth) is the great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, who wrote the novel on which this production was based.
Daniel Radcliffe's first filmed project. In his first role, he co-starred with six of his future co-stars of the Harry Potter film franchise: Dame Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall), Zoë Wanamaker (Madame Hooch), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), Dawn French (The Fat Lady in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)) and Paul Whitehouse (Sir Cadogan in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (scenes deleted)).
This version makes a change from the novel. In the book, young David is put to work pasting labels on bottles of wine at Murdstone and Grinby's wine company. In this movie, he is put to work pasting labels on jars of blacking (shoe polish). No doubt the change was made, because Charles Dickens was put to work pasting labels in Warren's Blacking Factory at the age of twelve, when his father John Dickens was imprisoned for debt.