Hermione wins approval as best role model

The smart student, played in the films by Emma Watson, picked up almost a fifth of the votes (19 per cent) in the survey.

Next up was Charlie Bucket – the poor boy who wins a golden ticket to get a glimpse inside Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory – who picked up 16 per cent of the vote, followed by another Roald Dahl creation, Matilda Wormwood, who was played in the 1996 film by Mara Wilson and was picked by 15 per cent of the 1,000 schoolchildren who voted.

The survey, carried out by streaming and dvd rental service LOVEFiLM with children’s charity Filmclub, put Home Alone’s Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, in fourth place with 13 per cent followed by the hero of the Karate Kid remake Dre Parker.