Roald Dahl Facts | 7 Things You Didn't Know

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! IT’S ROALD DAHL DAY, and kids across the land are dressing up as their favourite Roald Dahl characters – which one is yours? Ours is easily The BFG (superbly played by Mark Rylance) whom we fell in love with in summer 2016 with the release of our favourite film of the year. What better excuse to include the trailer here, and to share some interesting Roald Dahl facts you didn’t know!

Read on to learn 7 things you may not know about author Roald Dahl and his work.

1. Roald Dahl always wrote his original drafts in pencil on yellow paper, and conjured up new story ideas in a small hut at the bottom of his garden

2. Before he became a best-selling children’s author, Dahl was a Hurricane fighter pilot during World War II

3. In addition to writing some of the most iconic children’s books of all time, Roald Dahl also penned the screenplays for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Bond Movie You Only Live Twice

4. Before finally being published in 1964, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory went through several drafts; one of which included Charlie Bucket falling into a chocolate mould. Early drafts featured a Charlie of Afro-Caribbean descent but Dahl’s agent felt a black hero at that time would not be acceptable to the American market (how times have changed – thankfully)

5. Fantastic Mr. Fox was partly inspired by an unusual tree that grew outside Dahl’s house in the village of Great Missenden

6. Believe it or not, Roald Dahl occasionally took a break from writing children’s prose to produce articles and adult fiction for Playboy Magazine

7. The BFG was Dahl’s favourite creation and he would tell his own children tales of a dream-catching giant while acting out the scenes for them

We hope you have enjoyed our Roald Dahl facts and for more movie-based fun, check out these 5 things you didn’t know about Disney’s The Jungle Book.