Beryl the Peril appeared in the first issue of "The Topper" in 1953. She was created to be a female equivalent to "The Beano"'s Dennis the Menace. Davey Law, her artist and creator, drew inspiration from his daughter, who would often pull faces during her tantrums. The strips were similar in concept to the Dennis the Menace ones in that she would cause chaos through menacing her neighbours, parents and school teachers. In 1958, Beryl was chosen as one of the few of D.C. Thomson's characters to earn an annual all to herself, consisting solely from reprints in past years. When Law retired
Beryl the Peril entitled "What's in Cheryl's hair," a menacing-looking girl with pigtails is seen peeking out. This was labelled Beryl Cole and so is therefore not deemed an official appearance. However, she did make a return digitally via the social networking site Facebook. She was involved in an artist event called "Pass the Peril" in which four different artists were to draw four different strips based on the character and the website. The first was drawn by Steve Beckett and saw Beryl informing her father that her adventures would now continue via Facebook in which she, very much in character, smashed her