Good news everyone: you can get free Pizza Express dough balls today by saying one, simple phrase.

Roll into any branch and ask a waiter or waitress to "make me happy", and they'll dutifully oblige. Happiness will arrive in the form of fluffy balls of hot dough. Garlic butter too.

Pizza Express is pulling off the stunt as March 20 is the International Day of Happiness. The offer is on at all restaurants.

Exciting (
Image:
Rex Features)

Although the dough balls, an iconic mainstay of British high street dining, are free, the company is encouraging diners to 'pay in kind'.

This could be anything. Maybe share your balls with a pal, for example. Or give your waiter a big hug and tell him that he looks a little bit like Orlando Bloom on a paddle board – sure to cheer up any lad who's got another eight hours of accommodating push chairs and 'extra chicken' requests.

Less happily, to claim your free balls, you've got to dine in . So, while you're totally within your rights to say the words and sit down to eat them without ordering anything else, no doubt you'd get some embarrassing looks.

The free dough balls are only available for the first 25 customers per store, too. So hoppity hop.