It isn’t unusual for children to write stories featuring their favourite fictional characters – I myself penned several Biggles sequels in my youth – or their favourite celebrities. But these days, if you keep at it into adulthood, and you publish them online, you may end up with phenomenal book sales and even a Hollywood deal.

Fanfiction, as it’s known, can be big business. Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel The Idea of You – which is about a 40-year-old woman embarking on a romance with the 20-year-old frontman of a British boy band, possessed of a face so beautiful that it’s insured by Lloyd’s of London – began life as a piece of “fanfic” about One Direction singer Harry Styles. Although Lee gave the character a different name in the finished book, and was coy about the Styles connection – “Inspired is a strong word” was her non-disavowal to Vogue in 2020 – it created enough buzz among 1D’s legions of fans to make it a bestseller. The novel is now being shot with Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine.

The Telegraph London