Francesca Simon takes part in judging the BBC 500 Words Competition at Buckingham Castle

The judges of the BBC 500 Words Competition are joined by Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace

The judges for this year’s BBC 500 Words competition recently gathered at Buckingham Palace. The panel of judges, which is chaired by Alex Jones from The One Show, includes Francesca Simon, Ruth Ayling-Ellis, Sir Lenny Henry, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Charlie Higson and Malorie Blackman was joined by Her Majesty The Queen. The judges debated which the final 50 stories shortlisted for the competition.

Six winning stories will be read by celebrities at the grand final taking place at Windsor Castle in February. The young winners will have the chance to meet Her Majesty The Queen, who has championed the competition every year since 2015.

The final will be shown as part of a special BBC 500 Words programme on The One Show on Friday 6th March and then on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 7th March.

Fabulous Francesca Facts

"Families are great sources of comedy because they are about people trapped together. Only the parents chose to be there and the rest of you are stuck with these people that you might not necessarily like"

"Nobody feels emotions like children and with Henry, the war is constant and total. Anyone who has lived in a family has these shared experiences - the car journey from hell, nits or vomiting"

"I’ve never met a child who doesn’t love hearing stories. It’s a good way of introducing them to books and it’s a great way of getting them to understand stories that they might not be able to read themselves"

"We all love stories, it all helps making sense of the world"

"Horrid Henry speaks to the impish, rebellious child in all of us"

"My first book was called Papa Forgot and was published in 1993"

"I’ve written over fifty books"

"My birthday is 23rd February"

"I’m a bit scared of the dark"

"My hobbies are reading, cooking and going to the theatre"

"My favourite author is Anthony Trollope"

"My most disliked food is beetroot"

"My favourite colour is aquamarine"

"My favourite food is scallops"