The Essay

Frank Cottrell Boyce on flying and myth-making


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To mark the centenary of Roald Dahl's birth Frank Cottrell Boyce writes about the myth that the celebrated storyteller Dahl constructed out of his near fatal plane crash during the Second World War, and how he so perceptively captured a child's-eye view in his writing. Cottrell Boyce also recalls his very first encounter with Dahl's writing, which ended in outrage. The award-winning Frank Cottrell Boyce's first novel, Millions, was made into a feature film. He is a successful screenwriter and helped devise the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Roald Dahl at 100 is a celebration of the storyteller's work and legacy ahead of the centenary of his birth in September 2016. Five acclaimed writers, the screenwriter and children's novelist, Frank Cottrell Boyce; the screenwriter and co-creator of The League of Gentleman, Jeremy Dyson; the author and performance poet, Laura Dockrill; the writer and former children's laureate, Michael Rosen, and the biographer Donald Sturrock, explore their passion for Dahl's dazzling worlds, his dark humour and wild language and how it inspired their own work.

Written and read by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Produced by Justine Willett.

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The EssayBy BBC Radio 3

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