Quentin Blake has been drawing ever since he can remember. He taught illustration for over twenty years at the Royal College of Art, of which he is an honorary professor. He has won many prizes, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, the Eleanor Farjeon Award and the Kate Greenaway Medal, and in 1999 he was appointed the first Children’s Laureate. In the 2013 New Year’s Honours List he was knighted for services to illustration. But that’s enough of that. We can’t go on forever watching these two disgusting people doing disgusting things to each other. We must get ahead with the story. Here is a picture of Mr and Mrs Twit’s house and garden. Some house! It looks like a prison. And not a window anywhere.” It’s a new kind,” Mrs. Twit said, taking a mouthful from her own plate which of course had no worms. “It’s called Squiggly Spaghetti. It’s delicious. Eat it up while it’s nice and hot.”

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.the old people told; and thus, for perhaps half an hour every night, this room would become a happy place, and the whole family would forget that it was hungry and poor. One evening, when Charlie went in to see his grandparents, he said to them, “Is it really true that Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is the biggest in the world?” “True?” cried all four of them at once. “Of course it’s true! Good heavens, didn’t you know that? It’s about fifty times as big as any other!” “And is Mr. Willy Wonka really the cleverest chocolate maker in the world?” “My dear boy,” said Grandpa Joe, raising himself up a little higher on his pillow, “Mr. Willy Wonka is the most” So what I want to know is this. How often do all these hairy-faced men wash their faces? It is only once a week, like us, on Sunday nights? And do they shampoo it? Do they use a hair-dryer? Do they rub hair-tonic in to stop their faces from going bald? Do they go to a barber to have their hairy faces cut and trimmed or do they do it themselves in front of the bathroom mirror with nail-scissors?” Roald Dahl, a British author famous for his darkly funny, macabre, and often comically violent children’s books, published The Twits in 1980. Like many of his novels, it features grotesquely evil adult characters who prey on weaker children and eventually suffer a brutal, outsized comeuppance for their horrible behavior. Asked why he wrote this book, Dahl said that it was meant as an indictment of beards, which he thought were unhygienic. If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it.”

Available to watch until 30 November. The Twits is directed by Ned Bennett and performed by Martina Laird and Zubin Varla. With thanks to the Roald Dahl Story Company. What a lot of hairy-faced men there are around nowadays. When a man grows hair all over his face it is impossible to tell what he really looks like. Perhaps that’s why he does it. He’d rather you didn’t know. Then there’s the problem of washing. When the very hairy ones wash their faces, it must be as big a job as when you and I wash the hair on our heads. So what I want to know is this. How often do all these hairy-faced men wash their faces? Is it only once a week, like us, on Sunday nights? And do they shampoo it? Do they use a hairdryer? Do they rub hair-tonic in to stop their faces from going bald? Do they go to a barber to have their hairy faces cut and trimmed or do they do it themselves in front of the bathroom mirror with nail-scissors? I don’t know. But next time you see a man with a hairy face (which will probably be as soon as you step out on to the street) maybe you will look at him more closely and start wondering about some of these things.” The Twits study guide contains a biography of Roald Dahl, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Mr. and Mrs. Twit are a hateful and spiteful couple who take perverse pleasure in playing cruel jokes on each other. Their pranks range from Mrs. Twit feeding her husband worms and Mr. Twit tormenting his wife into thinking she is afflicted by a mysterious "shrinking disease." There is seemingly no end to the cruelty this couple has towards each other and unfortunately, those around them fare no better. The Twits, who were once retired circus trainers, continuously abuse a family of monkeys (known as the Muggle-Wumps) that are in their care. Spurred on by their desire to create the first "upside-down monkey circus," the Twits force the Muggle-Wumps to endure grueling training every day by threatening to beat them if they do not submit.

This story follows Mr. and Mrs. Twit — who are the miserable owners of a dangerous amusement park — and their meteoric rise to power in their town. The Twits’ takeover leads to an ongoing conflict between them, two children, and a community of magical animals who are determined to stop them. Look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store and Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! inspired by the revolting Twits. Read more Details Listen to THE TWITS and other Roald Dahl audiobooks read by some very famous voices, including Kate Winslet, David Walliams and Steven Fry - plus there are added squelchy soundeffects from Pinewood Studios!