ROYAL Mail has today announced the launch of 10 special stamps to celebrate the Mr Men Little Miss book series.

Stamps that feature in the set are Mr Happy, Little Miss Naughty, Mr Bump, Little Miss Sunshine, Mr Tickle, Mr Grumpy, Little Miss Princess, Mr Strong, Little Miss Christmas and Mr Messy.

Launched 45 years ago, the idea for the first Mr Men character arose when eight-year-old Adam Hargreaves asked his father Roger, “What does a tickle look like?”

The advertising copywriter went on to visualise a tickle in the shape of a small orange man with incredibly long arms – and so Mr Tickle was born.

Since the publication of Mr Tickle in 1971, a total of 500 Mr Men characters have been created.

Following Roger Hargreaves’ premature death in 1988, his son Adam decided to take over the reins of the family business.

He said: “I feel incredibly proud and I think my father would have been equally proud and really chuffed. It’s a real accolade for the Mr Men and Little Miss characters to be on a Royal Mail stamp.”

Phil Parker, of Royal Mail, said: “The Mr. Men and Little Miss characters are a worldwide phenomenon. People identify with the different character traits, and we hope these stamps will brighten up the sending and receiving of mail.”

The stamps are available from October 20 at royalmail.com/mrmen and 8,000 Post Office branches across the UK, or by calling 03457 641 641.