TalkTalk has announced the winners of TalkTalk Tales, its nationwide hunt for the UK’s best amateur storyteller.
Following a flood of entries and thousands of votes over the past three months, celebrity judge Bernard Cribbins was left with the unenviable task of selecting one grand winner from the ten finalists, as chosen by the public.
Ultimately it was Julie Brain from Tamworth in Staffordshire who became Britain’s best amateur storyteller for a rendition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which Bernard Cribbins described as “entertaining, emotive and fun”. As well as claiming this accolade, Julie also won the competition jackpot of £2,000.
Bernard Cribbins, star of Jackanory and The Wombles, backed the campaign to revive the dying practice of reading bedtime stories, after research commissioned by TalkTalk (www.talktalk.co.uk) revealed that only 52% of British parents read to their children.
The research also showed that, while people have good intentions about reading bedtime stories to their kids, they often found it hard to fit it into their schedules. The study also suggested that the majority of British adults (57%) feared that the tradition of reading bedtime stories to children is in danger of dying out.
However, the competition itself revealed the UK to be a veritable hotbed of narrative talent, with entries coming in from across the country.
List of the top 10 finalists
Julie Brain, Tamworth Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Henry Elliss, Reading Little Red Riding Hood
Paco Hope, London Oliver Twist
Simon Kingsley, Kingston-upon-Thames Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Fiona Lamb, Glasgow Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Martina M, Belfast Little Red Riding Hood
Lee McIntyre, Exeter Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Cheyelle Omar, Liverpool Little Red Riding Hood
Steve Spicer, Portsmouth Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Mike Williams, Cardiff Little Red Riding Hood
Bernard Cribbins, judge of TalkTalk Tales, said: “I would like to congratulate all ten finalists on their achievement, as well as all the brilliant entries that sadly did not make the top ten, and hope that they continue to entertain their listeners with their tales. It was really hard to choose the winner, but I believe that Julie Brain’s entry had everything required of a skilled narrator, incorporating tone, timing, rhythm and voices to create a fun rendition of one of my favourite bedtime stories that was a pleasure to listen to.”
Mark Schmid from TalkTalk said: “It has been great to see so many individuals submitting their entries and voting for their favourite bedtime storyteller. The top ten entrants received over 13,000 votes from members of the public, suggesting that the bedtime story still has plenty of life left in it.
“Reading and storytelling should be central to family life, whether it’s parents reading stories to their children at bedtime or kids telling their parents about their day at school.
Unfortunately our busy lives nowadays mean such traditions get squeezed out because of a lack of time.
“We would like to thank everyone who took part and uploaded their entries to our website and also many thanks to all of you who voted for their favourite. We hope that our competition helped reignite the nation’s passion for storytelling and narrating, and reminded people again of the ongoing power and appeal of having a story told to us.”