PREVIEW: 50 Years Of Mr Men with Matt Lucas, Channel 4

Matt Lucas celebrates 50 years of Mr Men and Little Misses, telling the amazing story of the colourful little characters who changed global publishing forever.

He also follows a competition to find two new characters for their special anniversary. Matt goes behind the scenes with the Hargreaves family, and learns the story of how Roger first came up with these stories and creations, and how the story that started with a 'tickle' in 1971, took the literary world, then television, by storm, becoming in time one of Britain's most successful brands. Roger's son Adam, who has been chief creative since his father's death, allows Matt privileged access to his artistic process.

Matt tracks down Roger's creative collaborators and uncovers the story of the pioneering animations from the 1970s and 1980s. He also goes truly 'method' with the Mr Men and is given an acting masterclass in how to become Mr Bump and Little Miss Sunshine; before taking to the streets in character, where he meets the superfans wo are testament to how much these stories have impacted generations the world over.

Matt holds a party to celebrate this special birthday and announces, by way of an animation, the winning two characters - with jelly and ice cream of course.

50 Years Of Mr Men with Matt Lucas airs Sunday 16th May at 6:05pm on Channel 4.