Wicked, one of the most anticipated films of 2024, was released in theatres on November 22, but did you know the original concept was thought up in the Lake District?

Author Gregory Maguire was visiting Beatrix Potter's farm in the Lake District, which reminded him of the house that lands on the Wicked Witch of the West in the original 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. 

He wrote the story in the 1990s and it was released on Broadway in 2003, and has become one of the biggest musicals in the world. 

The musical's themes of self-love, equality, and friendship have made it a cultural phenomenon that continues to captivate audiences. It's the fourth longest-running Broadway show, behind The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, and The Lion King. 

A new film version of the musical, starring Ariana Grande as Glinda, and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, has proven extremely popular in its first week since reaching theatres in the UK and abroad, grossing over $150 million.

The musical is told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Glinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba (who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (who becomes Glinda the Good). 

It is based on the book by Gregory Maguire, which was first published in 1995, and he has suggested that it was a trip to the Lakes which inspired him to write it.

In a clip shared by BBC Cumbria, he said: "I went to Beatrix Potter's farm and I thought 'alright, what do we know about the Wizard of Oz from our memories.' We have the house falling on the witch. All we know about that witch is that she has feet. So I began to think about Glinda, and the Wicked Witch of the West.

"There is one scene in the 1939 film where Billie Burke comes down looking all pink and fluffy, and Margaret Hamilton is all cawed and crabbed and she says something like 'I might have known you were behind this Glinda. Why is she using Glinda's first name? They have known each other. Maybe they've known each other for a long time. Maybe they went to college together. And I fell down on the floor in the Lake District laughing at the thought that they had gone to college together."