Jacqueline Wilson reveals new book on Radio 2 on World Book Day

Scott Mill was joined on his BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show by Jacqueline Wilson in her first world-exclusive interview about her new book announced this morning!

Scott also asked Jacqueline about being a Dame, a new tattooed statue of her being unveiled later today in Brighton, the possibility of more Tracy Beaker books and more.

Introducing her to the show, Scott called her Dame Jacqueline Wilson, to which she told him that he could drop the “Dame” because it makes her sound like a pantomime person!

Asking her about her World Book Day news, she told Scott: “I have a children’s book coming out just after World Book Day, The Seaside Sleepover, when I’ll be rushing round seaside towns all over the country.”

Scott then asked about an adult book announcement she was also making today.

“I think there are two of me actually, the one that writes the children’s books, and I love writing children’s books, still going to, but it’s been so exciting in that last year, I revisited three teenage girls that I’d written about in the 1990s and now, god help them, they’re pushing 40,” she answered. “And I thought what fun it would be to actually write about them in an adult novel.

“It’s called Picture Imperfect. I discovered that what fun it is to, it’s like a party game, you know, thinking about your childhood favourites that you wrote about. And one of the books that people have mentioned over the years is The Illustrated Mum, about a mum who has bipolar disorder, a lovely mum in some ways, but very, very spacy and unreliable, and you’ve got two kids, Dolphin and Star, named after the most popular flash tattoos, because she is called The Illustrated Mum, because she is illustrated all over.

“And now Dolphin is 33, the exact same age that the mum is in the first children’s book. But today, there’s a statue in Brighton that has just been unveiled, with wonderful tattoos all over it, and the statue is of me!”

Elsewhere on the station to celebrate World Book Day, the presenters are taking part in the fun and shining a light on the Radio 2 Book Club podcast. They are also dressing up as their favourite children’s book character, and there’s special guests from the literary world too.