The Breakfast Club cast has shared their fond memories of filming the iconic coming-of-age movie, four decades after its release. The film, which centres around five high school students in detention, was written and directed by the late John Hughes and became a cult classic following its 1985 release.

Molly Ringwald, who portrayed popular schoolgirl Claire Standish, confirmed it had been nearly forty years since all five main cast members had reunited.

Ringwald made an appearance at the Chicago Comic And Entertainment Expo (C2E2) on Saturday, alongside her co-stars Emilio Estevez (Andrew Clark), Judd Nelson (John Bender), Anthony Michael Hall (Brian Johnson) and Ally Sheedy (Allison Reynolds). She expressed: "I feel really very emotional and moved to have us all together."

She also added: "This is the first time that Emilio has joined us. We don't have to use the cardboard cutout any more, because he's here."

The 57 year old actress disclosed that she showed the film to her eldest daughter when she was just 10 years old, stating: "it changed my parenting, watching it with her". She further explained: "A lot of this stuff went over her head, thankfully, but how it spoke to her, which character she identified with and why, it opened up this incredible conversation."

She concluded by saying: "And I mean if you would have told me that, when I was 16 years old, one day I would be watching that movie with my 10-year-old and (that would) change the way that I parent. I mean, it's just mind-blowing.

"And then I watched the movie recently with my 15-year-olds, little more age appropriate, and I have to say that they didn't pick up their phones once, which to me, was, that was a win."

Estevez, 62, who played athlete Andrew in the film, when asked about the reunion, said: "This just was something that finally I felt I needed to do just for myself.

"But this one felt special. It's here in Chicago where we made the film, obviously (it's) the 40th anniversary, and it just felt like it was time.

"Somebody told me that Molly said, 'What, does Emilio just not like us?' And that broke my heart. Of course, no, I love all of them."

Nelson, 65, revealed that director Hughes "explained to us the differences between the young and old".

"I always felt in a weird way like that the work was half done, that at some point we would all get back together, because there were too many questions by everyone – 'What happens on Monday?'," he said.

The question is posed by Hall's character Brian in a part of the film where the schoolchildren, all from different social groups, become friends and ponder whether their bond will remain intact when they return to school.

"The film is about the fact that everyone has to make that decision for themselves – what happens on Monday," Nelson explained.

"But I felt, personally, that it was one shoe and I needed the second shoe, and that could only come from John.

"So his passing was profound, for me because ... Hughes explained to us the differences between the young and old.

"So now was the time for him to show us where we meet in the end, because we're all older now, but we're not going to get there, which is sad.

"But, in a way, Hughes has been telling us 'Think for yourself, think for yourself, think for yourself'."