Sophie Dahl pens kids’ book

MODEL Sophie Dahl is following in her grandfather Roald Dahl’s footsteps by turning to children’s fiction. Her first book, Madame Badobedah, will come out next year.

‘It is the story of Mabel, an only child who lives in a seaside hotel,’ she says. ‘When an imperious old lady comes to stay, with towering piles of bags and boxes and a menagerie of exotic pets, Mabel’s interest is piqued — who is this guest, just how long is she staying, and why oh why are her trunks full of gold?’

As Roald famously told Kingsley Amis after encouraging him to write for a younger audience: ‘The little b*****ds will swallow anything.’