Theroux said: “I don’t know for sure, but I think it was partly due to us reading books by Enid Blyton. We started with the St Clare books and then we moved onto the Malory Towers books.

In 2008, Enid Blyton was voted the UK's best loved writer, beating JK Rowling, Austen and even Shakespeare. Yet, although characters like Noddy and the Famous Five still have devoted fans ...