‘CAN YOU SAY THAT WITH A SMILE?’
Adrian Lester on narrating Quentin Blake’s stories
Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures Fri 29 Dec 1.25pm, New Year’s Day 1.55pm BBC1
What appealed to you about bringing Quentin Blake’s characters to life?
Painting grown-up problems into stories for kids is just wonderful. I jumped at the chance to be involved.
Have you narrated anything before?
Loads! For this, when all the other names were unavailable, they must have thought, “Ugh, OK, him again!” It must be my dulcet tones mixed with a Birmingham accent.
How did the Box of Treasures team help you get into character?
They would go, “Can you say that with a smile? Can you say that as if you’ve made a mistake? Can we have that three seconds quicker?” The animation was done later, so I just closed my eyes and spoke the sentences.
What stories did you read your daughters, Lila and Jasmine, when they were young?
The Red Tree by Shaun Tan and all of the Dr Seuss books. They also liked making up stories. We would say, “OK, where is this next story happening? Who is the hero?” And they’d go, “It’s happening underground, and it’s about a beetle called Frederick.” It helps that I’m a little bit of a child myself. I get on with kids very well, because we’re all on the same wavelength when it comes to humour.
Do you have a favourite festive memory?
Christmas morning with children between the ages of two and ten is brilliant. I love the excitement of things wrapped up in bright paper! And I look forward to seeing people’s faces when they open their presents — and spotting [the gifts] when you go to their house weeks later. Hopefully it’s not a case of, “Quick! Put out that purple bowl with the yellow polka dots Adrian thought was lovely!”
How will you spend Christmas this year?
I’m going to visit family in Birmingham and make sure I see every single one of my friends that I trust and love. I love getting presents, but this year it’s less about things and much more about people.