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Top of the Class

Factual: Life Stories

John Wilson meets leading figures and takes them back to the places they left behind

John Wilson meets leading figures in their fields and takes them back to the places and people they left behind

Top of the Class: Series 1

Top of the Class: Series 1: Episode 3: Lauren Child

Lauren Child

Episode 3

Episode 3: Lauren Child

Series 1

BBC Radio 4 - Top of the Class, Series 1, Lauren Child

The creator of the Charlie and Lola children's books goes back to school.

John Wilson takes leading figures back to revisit their early influences. Children's author Lauren Child goes back to her school to meet her former teachers and best friend.

Writer and illustrator Lauren Child is known to many parents and children for her Charlie and Lola books and Clarice Bean novels. She takes John Wilson on a tour of her own childhood in Wiltshire to meet the people and the places which have inspired her. "People never really know what they've done for you" says Lauren of her Latin teacher, Alan Clague. "When I was in Pompeii a year ago, I wanted to ring him up and thank him for his Latin classes and how much they meant to me." Twenty five years later in this programme John takes her back to her comprehensive school to meet her retired teacher. 

Lauren also takes John to meet her craft teacher who taught her how to make dolls houses and shows John the first dolls house she played with when she was seven years old. The wallpaper looks slightly familiar as does much of the miniature furniture. It's these early memories and the comfortable feel of the furniture which can be seen as illustrations throughout all her books. 

But she didn't succeed as a writer for many years. She drifted through art school, spent time working as an assistant for Damien Hurst during his spots period before finding her own voice as a successful children's writer. 

She is accompanied in the programme by her best friend at school, now also a children's writer, Cressida Cowell, who remembers Lauren doodling on the school desks - little figures who were the beginnings of Charlie, Lola and Clarice Bean. 

Producer - Sarah Taylor.

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John Wilson takes leading figures back to the roots which influenced their later success

John Wilson meets leading figures in their fields and takes them back to the places and people they left behind but who influenced their later success

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Top of the Class

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Episode 3: Lauren Child

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