Dahl given stamp of approval

The set of six Royal Mail stamps, which also depict the work of illustrator Quentin Blake whose drawings are synonymous with Dahl’s stories, feature six of the author’s best-loved novels.

One of Dahl’s most famous tales, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, appears with a beaming Charlie Bucket on the 46p first-class stamp.

Other stamps feature favourites Fantastic Mr Fox (66p), James and the Giant Peach (68p), Matilda (76p), The Twits (£1) and The Witches (£1.10).

The 30th anniversary of The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), another one of Dahl’s hugely popular characters, is marked by a special sheet of four stamps all of which feature scenes from the story.

His daughter Ophelia Dahl said: “I’m so excited that Royal Mail has honoured my father, Roald Dahl, with these stamps. My dad wrote thousands of letters home throughout his life and never dreamed that one day one of his own characters would grace a stamp.

“He’d be thrilled. This is an excellent way for us to kick off a year of celebrations to mark 30 years in print for The BFG and it’s great that the stamps include a collector’s set, devoted to The BFG and other characters from this book.”