50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas — all you need to know about the new C4 documentary

50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas celebrates 50 years of the Mr Men in a new C4 documentary. (Image credit: C4)

50 Years Of The Mr Men with Matt Lucas sees the comedian and Great British Bake Off presenter, celebrate the milestone birthday of the hugely popular children's books first created by Roger Hargreaves in 1971. 

Here we tell you everything you need to know: 

When is 50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas on TV? 

The hour-long documentary will be shown on C4 on Sunday 17 May at 6pm. 

What will the presenter be getting up to?

In 50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas the star will be charting the evolution of the colourful characters including Mr Bump, Mr Tickle and Little Miss Bossy. He'll also be chatting to super-fans, collectors and collaborators. 

Matt also spends time with Adam Hargreaves, who picked up the Mr Men mantle when his father, Roger, died suddenly in 1988. 

50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas

The first Little Miss books were published in 1981 and included Little Miss Bossy and Little Miss Sunshine.  (Image credit: C4)

Is Matt Lucas a big Mr Men fan? 

He certainly is. Matt says, "I've loved the Mr Men books since I can remember. It's such a warm and friendly world and feels very inclusive. Revisiting them as an adult to do research for this documentary I was reminded just how funny and innovative they are. I love their simplicity and their purity. They feel like your friends!"

Who are Matt's favourite Mr Men? 

Matt says: "I remember having Mr Bump, Mr Strong, Mr Happy and Mr Tickle as a child. They were the ones I kept asking my parents to read me again and again, and were the first books I read on my own when I learnt to read. My favourite character was Mr Bump because I was always bumping into things and could identify with him. I also like Mr Chatterbox, because I was often called that at school by teachers!"

50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas

Walter The Worm makes frequent appearances in the Mr Men books.  (Image credit: C4)

How successful are the Mr Men and Little Miss books? 

There is one book sold every 2.5 seconds across the world and a third of all Brits own a copy. They've sold over 250 million copies worldwide and have been published in 17 different languages. It's fair to say the Mr Men and Little Miss books are a global phenomenon and one of Britain's most enduring brands. 

Which was the first ever Mr Men book? 

Mr Tickle was the first book created in 1971. Roger Hargreaves, who was at the time working as a successful advertising executive, dreamt up the idea when his son Adam, who was 8 years-old at the time, asked him what a tickle looked like. Roger drew a rotund figure with long arms and the rest is history! 

50 Years Of The Mr Men With Matt Lucas will be on C4 on Sunday 16 May at 6pm 

Tess Lamacraft
Senior Writer for What's On TV, TV Times, TV & Satellite week, Whattowatch.com

Tess is a senior writer for What’s On TV, TV Times, TV & Satellite and WhattoWatch.com She's been writing about TV for over 25 years and worked on some of the UK’s biggest and best-selling publications including the Daily Mirror where she was assistant editor on the weekend TV magazine, The Look, and Closer magazine where she was TV editor. She has freelanced for a whole range of websites and publications including We Love TV, The Sun’s TV Mag, Woman, Woman’s Own, Fabulous, Good Living, Prima and Woman and Home.