Editing The Beano (section)

===Audience participation===
Interaction with the audience is a historic practice in ''The Beano''{{'s}} history. Excluding fan clubs and merchandise, ''[[Comic Idol]]'' is a sporadic election in which readers vote for their favourite strips to keep in the magazine.{{sfnp|''History of The Beano''|2008|p=292}} Cancelled strips with the least votes include ''[[Little Plum]]'', ''[[Baby Face Finlayson]]'', ''[[Les Pretend]]'',{{refn|group=Note|name=Return|Although discontinued in 2007,{{sfnp|''History of The Beano''|2008|p=292}} the strips would later return to the magazine.}} ''[[Calamity James]]'',{{refn|group=Note|name=Return}} ''[[Crazy for Daisy]]'', and ''Lord Snooty''.{{refn|group=Note|name=Return}} ''[[Super School]]'' and ''[[Meebo and Zuky]]'' were nominees who won polls and became official strips in the following issues.<ref>{{cite news |title=ICE 2014 Adds Lew Stringer to {{as written|i|t's [sic]}} Growing Guestlist |url=https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/ice-2014-adds-lew-stringer-to-its-growing-guestlist/ |work=ICE – The International Comic Expo |date=1 June 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210709081327/https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/ice-2014-adds-lew-stringer-to-its-growing-guestlist/ |archive-date=9 July 2021 |quote=In October 2008 Lew's artwork began to appear on a new regular series for THE BEANO entitled Super School which proved very popular in the readers poll. |access-date=18 July 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Swanson |first1=Brian |title=Now Obama joins the Beano |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/201705/Now-Obama-joins-the-Beano |work=Express.co.uk |date=25 September 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210709081140/https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/201705/Now-Obama-joins-the-Beano |archive-date=9 July 2021 |quote=Meebo and Zuky, drawn by artist Laura Howell, won a readers’ poll to find a new regular story for the popular Dundee-based comic. |access-date=18 July 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> Readers would find a voting slip covered with the candidates printed in an issue that they would fill out and mail to DC Thomson, but the creation of ''Beano''{{'s}} websites would allow real-time opinions from readers.{{sfnp|''History of The Beano''|2008|p=292}} ''Pets' Picture Gallery'' invited readers to send drawings of their pets to feature in the following issue.{{sfnp|''History of The Beano''|2008|p=218}}

Readers participated in the magazine's record-breaking stunts. In 1988, 100 children helped Euan Kerr and ''Beano'' scriptwriter Al Bernard recreate the front cover of issue 2396 on [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough Beach]] with Hann-Made Productions.{{sfnp|''80 Years''|2018|p=98}} It was awarded the Largest Comic Strip at 39950 square feet.{{sfnp|''80 Years''|2018|p=98}} ''Beano''{{'s}} 2018 comic competition to celebrate the opening of [[V&A Dundee]] was awarded the biggest competition to finish a comic strip with 650 participants.<ref>{{cite news |title=Beano breaks world record with comic comp at V&A Dundee |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/16882343.beano-breaks-world-record-comic-comp-v-dundee/ |work=The National |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705095246/https://www.thenational.scot/news/16882343.beano-breaks-world-record-comic-comp-v-dundee/ |archive-date=5 July 2021 |access-date=18 July 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Along with Nick Park's guest editor issue, the 70th anniversary coincided with Gnashional Menace Day, a [[CLIC Sargent]]-partnered event where readers could be sponsored "behaving like Dennis" for charity.<ref name="culture"/>