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Brit inventor who created iconic 90s toy dies after rare cancer battle

28 June 2024 , 21:27
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Early editions of the toys can sell now for more than £1,000 online
Early editions of the toys can sell now for more than £1,000 online

THE INVENTOR of iconic 1990s toy Polly Pocket has died aged 74 after a battle with a rare form of brain cancer.

Chris Wiggs first created the miniature portable house and doll in 1983 for his own daughter, using a makeup compact.

Chris Wiggs, inventor of the Polly Pocket, has died aged 74 qhiddkiqztikhprw
Chris Wiggs, inventor of the Polly Pocket, has died aged 74
The toys were first released in the 1980s and took off in the 90s
The toys were first released in the 1980s and took off in the 90sCredit: Getty
One of the iconic Polly Pocket toys
One of the iconic Polly Pocket toys

Chris died peacefully at his home in France surrounded by his loved ones on June 20, according to the New York Post.

He was suffering from a form of neurological cancer before he died.

Chris leaves behind his wife Carolyn, his daughter Kate, son Ben and five grandchildren.

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Chris first created a mini world for his daughter Kate from his basement workshop in 1983.

She once said: "I’m trying to remember the first moment he handed over the compact and I think it would have just been very ordinary. ‘Oh, I made this. Here you go'.

"Because he was always making stuff, it was the most natural thing in the world."

A Swindon toy company, Bluebird Toys, snapped up the Polly Pocket design in 1989 and it became a wildly popular kids toy over the course of the next decade.

By 1994 roughly three quarters of all girls in Britain were believed to have owned one.

The company sold more than £100 million worth of the tiny product.

They were discontinued to the heartbreak of many in 1998 when Mattel took over Bluebird Toys.

His Polly Pocket dolls were priced at around £10 in their original release and went up over the years as their popularity soared.

Toy giant and Barbie manufacturer Mattel redesigned the dolls in the 1990s making them several inches tall.

Kids could then dress their dolls in clothes and accessories.

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Unopened editions of the toys sell on eBay now for extortionate prices - with one 2002 version listed at over £1,000.

Mattel again relaunched the toys in 2018 with mini and full-size options on sale.

The dolls could even form the inspiration for a film like Margot Robbie's portrayal of Barbie last year.

Lena Dunham is due to direct the movie with Lily Collins playing Polly, according to the New York Post.

Chris Wiggs, inventor of Polly Pocket with his daughter Kate
Chris Wiggs, inventor of Polly Pocket with his daughter Kate

Ellie Doughty

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