Truly Scrumptious is a fictional character in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, based on the children's novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. She does not appear in the book. In the film the character is portrayed by singer/actress Sally Ann Howes.

In the film

Truly is the daughter of a wealthy sweet factory owner, Lord Scrumptious. She develops a romantic relationship with the widower Caractacus Potts (played by Dick Van Dyke). She does not appear in the original book, in which Caractacus is married to Mimsie Pott (the surname used in the book). The filmmakers felt that a romantic relationship would serve the film better than the marriage relationship in the book, and so Caractacus was portrayed as a widower.

Truly's name is very much the opposite of the usual Fleming female character names, being innocent and rather treacly, although still a pun. Her full name is also the title of "Truly Scrumptious", one of the two love songs from the film.

The character of Truly's father, Lord Scrumptious (spelled "Skrumshus" in the book), of the Scrumptious Sweet Company, is present in both the book and the film.

Behind the scenes

During the shooting of the film, Howes developed a very close friendship with Heather Ripley and Adrian Hall, who played the children of Caractacus Potts. Having felt somewhat isolated on movie sets as a child actress, Howes wanted to make certain that Ripley and Hall were completely at ease and comfortable on set.

In the film, Truly sings the Sherman Brothers' song "Lovely Lonely Man" about Caractacus Potts. When the songwriters demonstrated the song for producer Cubby Broccoli he reportedly commented that the song was the most beautiful he'd ever heard. Ironically, it was the only song from the original motion picture which wasn't included in the stage production.

Various actresses have now played Truly Scrumptious in stage productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. These include the following in the order they have played the character.

Approximate Dates given where available

• Emma Williams - Originated the role in London (2002-2003)
• Caroline Sheen (2003-2004)
• Scarlett Strallen (2004-2005)
• Jo Gibb - Closed out the London Production (2005)
• Marissa Dunlop - Originated the role in the National UK Tour (2005-2007)
• Rachel Stanley - Closed out the National UK Tour (2008)
• Erin Dilly - Originated the role on Broadway and closed out the Production (2005)