Matt Lucas was shocked to discover 'Mr. Men' almost got turned into condoms.
Matt Lucas
The 'Great British Bake Off' star - who has been delving into the world of Roger Hargreaves' beloved children's books featuring colourful characters like Mr. Tickle and Little Miss Chatterbox as part of a new documentary, '50 Years of Mr. Men With Matt Lucas' - explained how the racy merchandise was deemed inappropriate.
He said: "I asked them whether they’d had to say no to any ideas for merchandise, and they told me somebody wanted to make 'Mr. Men' condoms.
“They felt that even though condoms were a socially responsible thing, they didn’t feel it was an appropriate match. Yeah, I think they made the right call on that one.
“But the merchandising is still something that is very big for these characters, they’ve had their own Happy Meals.”
The first book came after illustrator Roger's son asked him what a tickle looked like, and the series went onto span numerous stories and spin-off TV shows.
The 'Little Britain' star has pondered ways the books can grow with the times.
He said: "What would I do if I had to do a Mr? I might do an ecological one, that might be good — a character that is interested in the environment.
“That might be a nice theme to introduce to young people.”
Matt would also like to break down gender barriers with a character, and he pointed out the book series is "more about characteristics" than whether they are meant to be male or female.
He added to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre TV column: "Do you know what I’d do? I’d create a character that was neither a Mr. nor a Miss. I think that might be something interesting to explore.
"It’s not really about gender with the characters, it is more about characteristics.”
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