teas.co.uk
Tea and coffee from the brands you know
Sweets in famous books and films
Sweets have starred in stories, and some of them sold a great deal more after their moment on the page or screen. Here are the sweets of books, films, television and song, and what happened next.
In this article
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Sweets make handy props in stories: a treat, a temptation, a bribe. A few fictional sweets became real, and a few real sweets saw sales jump overnight.
In books
- Brighton rock, 1938. Graham Greene's thriller about the teenage gang leader Pinkie takes its title from the seaside rock of Brighton, with the town's name running all the way through it: see Brighton rock
- Turkish delight, 1950. In C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch uses enchanted Turkish delight to win the loyalty of Edmund Pevensie. Sales of Turkish delight rose after the 2005 film of the book: see how sweets from abroad came to Britain
- Wonka Bars, 1964. Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grew out of his schooldays tasting new Cadbury chocolates, and Wonka sweets later became real: see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and real sweet factories
- Every Flavour Beans. The Harry Potter books gave the world Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and Jelly Belly now makes them, with flavours such as vomit, earwax, skunk spray and rotten egg: see strange sweet flavours from around the world
In films
One film sweet was nearly a different one. In 1982 Mars turned down an offer to feature M&M's in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. Hershey accepted the offer for Reese's Pieces, a fairly new sweet at the time. With the film's huge success, sales of Reese's Pieces rose dramatically, perhaps by as much as 300%.
The 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory went further still: it was paid for by Quaker Oats to launch a real Wonka Bar.
On television
In Doctor Who, the Fourth Doctor's habit of offering jelly babies to strangers became one of the character's trademarks: see Doctor Who and his Jelly Babies
In songs
- Blackpool rock. George Formby recorded With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock in 1937, and in 1946 a BBC manager wrote that certain lines must not be broadcast: see Blackpool rock
- Jelly Babies. Pop fans turned sweets into missiles when Beatles fans pelted the band with Jelly Babies in 1963: see the Beatles and the Jelly Babies
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
What sweet is in E.T.?
Reese's Pieces. In 1982 Mars turned down an offer to put M&M's in Steven Spielberg's film, and Hershey accepted it for Reese's Pieces. Sales rose sharply after the film's success, perhaps by as much as 300%.
What sweet does the White Witch give Edmund?
Turkish delight. In C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, published in 1950, the White Witch uses enchanted Turkish delight to win Edmund Pevensie's loyalty. Sales of Turkish delight rose after the 2005 film.
Are Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans real?
Yes. Jelly Belly makes Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, inspired by the Harry Potter books, with deliberately gruesome flavours such as vomit, earwax and rotten egg.
Sources
- Reese's Pieces, Wikipedia
- Turkish delight, Wikipedia
- Jelly Belly, Wikipedia
- Brighton Rock (novel), Wikipedia
- George Formby, Wikipedia
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wikipedia
- The Willy Wonka Candy Company, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Stories, heists and recordsCharlie and the Chocolate Factory and real sweet factoriesRoald Dahl tested new Cadbury chocolates at school, and rival makers really did send spies. How real factories shaped Charlie, and how Wonka became real.
- Stories, heists and recordsDoctor Who and his Jelly BabiesThe Doctor first offered a jelly baby in 1968. Patrick Troughton started it, Tom Baker made it a trademark, and in 1996 Paul McGann offered one too.
- Stories, heists and recordsThe Beatles and the Jelly BabiesIn 1963 George Harrison let slip that he liked Jelly Babies, and fans pelted the Beatles with them. In America they threw hard jelly beans instead.
- British heritage sweetsBrighton rockBrighton rock is the seaside rock sold in Brighton, with the town's name running through it. It also gave its name to Graham Greene's 1938 novel.
- British heritage sweetsBlackpool rockBlackpool rock is thick seaside rock with the town's name running through it, and the subject of a George Formby song that ran into trouble with the BBC.
- Stories, heists and recordsStrange sweet flavours from around the worldWasabi Kit Kats in Japan, earwax flavour jelly beans and Nordic liquorice made salty with ammonium chloride: strange sweet flavours from around the world.