YOU can sense David Baddiel blushing at the other end of the phone when I mention that he’s described by his publishers as a ‘major force in children’s fiction.’

“Well, the books are certainly going down well with children,” he says, “so I suppose that description works for me.”

To many people David will be best known as a comedian or for presenting the TV show Fantasy Football or for penning the chart topping football anthem Three Lions - or even as a writer of adult fiction.

But it his latest foray into the publishing world which has brought him to a whole new audience.

He has now written two books - The Parent Agency and The Person Controller - aimed at young readers. And it has just been announced that he will be the official author for the nine to 12-year-old age group on World Book Day, next Thursday, March 3.

“I have found writing for children to be relatively straightforward,” he said. “Apart from not having what you would call ‘adult content’ I haven’t really changed much to write for a younger audience.

“I’ve had to think how a 10 or 11-year-old views the world and that, in turn, has allowed me to release my inner child.

“Let’s be honest, we are all still children at heart but we tend to hide it most of the time but every now and then it will come out.

“Lots of us still love sweets. I got a packet of sour sweets from a service station the other day and suddenly it was like I was a schoolboy again. I could quite happily have eaten the whole packet in one go.”

David’s own children Ezra, aged 11, and Molly, 14, have helped shape his two novels.

“The Parent Agency was inspired by something Ezra said about Harry Potter. He wondered why Harry didn’t just leave the Dursleys and find new parents which got me thinking what it would be like if children could actually choose their own parents.

“With the latest book, The Person Controller, I was watching Ezra play Fifa on the computer. He’s a real gamer and I just wondered what he really wanted to be doing when he’s controlling Real Madrid in the game. I think with most children they’d really want to be playing for Real Madrid. From that I came up with the idea of a controller which allowed the twins who find it to control everything in their lives.”

David has used both his children as sounding boards through the writing process.

“I have read bits to them particularly when it’s about trends or things I think kids are interested in,” he added. “They will soon tell me if I’m behind the times.”

One thing David has quickly appreciated is young readers have a highly developed sense of comedy.

“Children are much more sophisticated now. When I was their age I grew up with Ladybird books and the Magic Roundabout. Now children have grown up with the likes of The Simpsons.

“I’ve had some great conversations with Ezra about comedy. We were discussing Chris Rock the other day and to be honest it was virtually the same kind of conversation I would have had with Frank Skinner.”

Due to his new-found status as a children’s author, David has been invited into schools to talk to both pupils and parents. And he said going to schools is something he really enjoyed: “You get 300 children who get so excited.

“I get them all fizzed up and then leave the school or their parents with the problem of trying to calm them down,” he laughed.

“But they have such vivid imaginations and soon get caught up in the whole process. I may do a reading or two from the books and then perhaps ask them to suggest who their ideal parents would be. David Beckham’s name pops up a surprising amount.

“But it’s really enjoyable to be part of something where you have all these young minds giving flight to their imaginations.”

As well as his children’s writing duties, David has also been working on a new show which he hopes to bring to the stage later this year.

“It was inspired by my mum’s death and my dad who has dementia,” he explained. “I don’t think we should just idolise our parents just because they are our parents but really celebrate them for what they are, both good and bad.”

He will also be seen on our television screens in a travel series on Discovery in which he travels along the old Silk Road.

But, he pointed out: “I don’t like to be away from the family for too long.”

The Person Controller and The Parent Agency are published by Harper Collins.