Rishi Sunak quotes BFG and says ‘don’t gobblefunk’ with Roald Dahl books

Rishi Sunak has criticised the decision to rewrite Roald Dahl children’s books for a modern audience – urging the publisher not to “gobblefunk” with the language. open image in gallery Roald Dahl, who died in 1990, has regularly topped the list of the nation’s favourite authors for children Ms Nossel warned that the power to rewrite books could soon be abused. “Those who might cheer specific edits to Dahl’s work should consider how the power to rewrite books might be used in the hands of those who do not share their values and sensibilities.” The Roald Dahl Story Company claim their review process has been ongoing since 2020 and that any edits were “small and carefully considered”. “When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used … Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text.” Dahl died in 1990 at the age of 74 but has regularly topped the list of the nation’s favourite authors for children.