UK’S FAVOURITE ROALD DAHL CHARACTERS REVEALED AHEAD OF WORLD BOOK DAY 2023 ON MARCH 2
- Willy Wonka is UK’s best-loved Roald Dahl character
- Matilda ‘baddie’ Miss Trunchbull comes third in list of favourites
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory characters most popular overall
The nation’s best-loved Roald Dahl characters have been revealed, proving that the celebrated British author is still as popular as ever 62 years after the release of his first children’s book.
The research, undertaken by the UK’s leading online fancy dress and party products retailer Party Delights to coincide with World Book Day on Thursday, March 2, has discovered that Willy Wonka reigns supreme as the UK’s favourite Dahl-created character.
Online monthly searches for the enigmatic personality from the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, average 33,100.
He is followed by Fantastic Mr. Fox with 27,100, Matilda baddie Miss Trunchbull with 18,100, James from James and the Giant Peach with 14,800 and The BFG with 10,160 searches.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has the nation’s favourite collection of characters overall, with six featuring in the league table.
Dahl’s ability to create unique personas and his wildly imaginative stories have kept him at the forefront of children’s literature for six decades, with a combined 151,990 online UK searches for his much-loved characters every month.
The league table in full*
| Roald Dahl character | Avg monthly searches (last 12 months) |
| Willy Wonka | 33,100 |
| Fantastic Mr Fox | 27,100 |
| Miss Trunchbull | 18,000 |
| James from James and the Giant Peach | 14,800 |
| The BFG | 10,160 |
| Violet Beauregarde | 9,900 |
| Veruca Salt | 9,900 |
| Augustus Gloop | 9,900 |
| The Twits | 6,600 |
| Miss Honey | 3,600 |
| Danny the Champion of the World | 3,600 |
| Charlie Bucket | 3,600 |
| Matilda Wormwood | 2,600 |
| Mike Teavee | 1,300 |
| Grand High Witch | 1,000 |
| Enormous Crocodile | 390 |
This year’s World Book Day takes place on March 2 and to mark the event Party Delights has launched an extended range of Roald Dahl costumes featuring his best-loved characters for children and adults.
Party Delights creative manager, Sarah Allsop, said: “Roald Dahl books are timeless and have captured the hearts and minds of children for over half a century.
“Costumes of characters from his books are some of our most popular all year-round, but particularly on World Book Day, and this year we expect no different.
“The costumes are loved by children and teachers alike, and we predict Willy Wonka, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Matilda to be the top sellers for 2023.”
To see the Roald Dahl and full World Book Day collections visit www.PartyDelights.co.uk.
*Data source: SemRush. Average monthly online searches over the last 12 months.
