But four years on, history repeats itself when Mum disappears in similar circumstances, apparently taken by a fork of lightning. With its wonderful evocation of a magical other-world and the warm-hearted dynamics of family love and friendship, this high-octane adventure will have youngsters giggling, gasping and guffawing from first page to last. He co-hosted the children's programme Tiswas from 1978 until 1981, and subsequently performed and wrote for the show Three of a Kind, with comedians Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield.

Sir Lenny Henry has written another delightful tale for children with ‘The Book of Legends: What if all the stories were real? Bran and Fran just love living with their mum, everyday is different as she Loves telling them daily stories. When their mum mysteriously disappears in a lightning strike, just like their dad, the twins are all alone and know they have to stick together – if only to face their new guardian’s terrible cooking! Wildebeeste (a homage to Teddy Pendergrass using the 'TP' initials), Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins and Trevor MacDoughnut (a parody of Trevor McDonald).

She encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy scene, where he established a career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian. But when their mum’s treasured storybook turns out to be a portal to another world full of mythical legends, everything changes. Lenny’s Production Company, Douglas Road, has achieved success in partnership with Burning Bright on the recently acclaimed The Commonwealth Kid documentary and has a host of other programmes in the pipeline. Yet it turns out that her stories serve as a portal to a another world: the Nine Dominions Along the way they face evil princes, murder fairies, mud monsters and even Vikings!

I really do admire the children's bravery and was happy to find out what really happened to their parents! A story wrapped around legends, a brilliant family dynamic, a hilarious zebracorn and lots of lovely messages. At least the stories Mum tells them, the tales of the Nine Dominions, provide some much-needed consolation. Lenny is a strong advocate for diversity, using his voice to give talks on the subject all over the world. In 2018 the BBC broadcast The Lenny Henry Birthday Show, looking back on Lenny’s career to commemorate his 60th birthday.Henry studied for an MA at Royal Holloway, University of London in screenwriting for television and film, where he received a distinction and where he is now studying for a PhD on the role of black people in the media. A superbly fun and witty story about stories and storytelling with wonderfully diverse representation - Twins Bran and Fran attend a British Sign Language school; Bran is deaf. The show featured stand up, spoofs like his send up of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and many of the characters he had developed during Summer Season, including Theophilus P. Luckily, the twins have Wilma, the Wizard's Wife, and Zachary, a wisecracking Zebracorn, to help them solve the mystery surrounding their parents’ disappearance.