My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss
In 1971, a question from eight-year-old Adam inspired his father Roger Hargreaves to create the Mr Men. The first was Mr Tickle, with his long stretchy arms.
In 1971, advertising writer Roger Hargreaves's eight-year-old son Adam asked him an unusual question: 'What does a tickle look like?'
Inspired, Roger got out his marker pens and created an orange character with a round body, long stretchy arms and a blue bowler hat.
That character would become Mr Tickle, one of the first Mr Men books.
Adam Hargreaves tells Megan Jones how his late father's children's books became a worldwide success.
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(Photo: Roger Hargreaves with Mr Wrong. Credit: Gerrit Alan Fokkema/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)
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My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss
Duration: 01:29
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- Fri 6 Feb 2026 08:50GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Fri 6 Feb 2026 12:50GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Fri 6 Feb 2026 18:50GMT麻豆社 World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
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- Sun 19 Apr 2026 07:48GMT麻豆社 Radio 4
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Witness History
The story of our times, told by the people who were there