Image caption Matt Smith and Tom Baker's Doctors have been given the Mr Men makeover

Doctor Who is to be reimagined as Mr Men book characters, with the first four based on Doctors played by William Hartnell, Tom Baker, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.

The 12 incarnations of the Doctor will be made over in the style of Roger Hargreaves, who created the books.

His son, Adam Hargreaves, has written and illustrated the new book series.

The first four books, released in spring 2017, will be Dr First, Dr Fourth, Dr Eleventh and Dr Twelfth.

The idea was prompted by a number of unofficial Mr Men mash-ups created by fans and posted online.

'Humour and nostalgia'

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, told BBC News: "There's a sense that since the adult Ladybird books last year, there has been a market for ironic takes and mash-ups from old classics done with a new twist.

"This clearly taps into that same market, it's sort of the perfect Christmas gift book, or in this case Mother's Day and Father's Day."

The reboot of the Ladybird book series How It Works became hugely popular last year with the publication of new titles such as The Hangover, The Hipster and The Mid-Life Crisis.

Jones added: "With these types of book it's all to do with getting that combination of humour of nostalgia right."

Doctor Who is set to return for a Christmas special this year, entitled The Return of Doctor Mysterio.

Image caption Peter Capaldi is the most recent Doctor, while William Hartnell was the very first

It is not the first time a popular TV show has been given the Mr Men treatment.

In 2013, HBO's Game of Thrones was reimagined in the form of colourful characters - including Mr Beastly and Little Miss Vengance.

The series itself was given a makeover in 2011 to celebrate its 40th anniversary - Mr Greedy was re-imagined as a banker and Little Miss Chatterbox was seen with a mobile.

The Mr Men books have sold more than 120 million copies and have been translated into 15 different languages since their inception in 1971.

Adam Hargreaves took over illustrating the series when his father died in 1988.

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