The Wicker Tree tripped over power cables on set. Although very disappointed, Hardy gave the role intended for Lee to Graham McTavish, the actor who had originally been cast as Beame, the Morrisons' butler. Clive Russell plays Beame instead. Lee is still in the film, making a brief cameo appearance as the unnamed "Old Gentleman" who acts as Lachlan's mentor in a flashback. Robin Hardy has stated that fans of "The Wicker Man" will recognise this character as Lord Summerisle, but Lee himself has contradicted this, stating that they are two unrelated characters. Joan Collins was originally set to play Lady Delia Morrison
Sodor (fictional island) of Man is known as Bishop of "Sodor and Man". This is because the Isle of Man was part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, which included the Hebrides, known in Old Norse as the "Suðreyjar", (anglicised as "The Sudreys") i.e. "Southern Isles" compared to "Norðreyjar" ("The Nordreys"), or the "Northern Isles", i.e. Orkney and Shetland. The Sudreys became "Sodor", which was fossilised in the name of the Diocese, long after it ceased to have any authority over the Scottish Islands. Thus there is no "Island" of Sodor; rather, the fictional island takes its name from an archipelago.