DICKENS LOVED HEARTH, HOME AND CHRISTMAS...

Spooks star Richard Armitage on the Sam Mendes-directed audiobook adaptation of David Copperfield, the surreal experience of playing a dwarf in The Hobbit trilogy... and why he's writing his own spoken-word thrillers

- Matt Nixson

HAVING played Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's smash-hit Hobbit trilogy with a powerful northern accent, it's slightly surprising to hear Richard Armitage's deep, rich baritone minus the strong inflections of the dwarf lord. But then, the Leicester-born star is a sought-after voice actor, having been a go-to narrator for audiobooks and video games almost as long as he's been a familiar face on stage and screen.

"My accent in The Hobbit was a hybrid of my dad and his northern side of the family," he admits with a smile. "I don't know why my ear tuned into that, but they [the filmmakers] liked it so much Aidan Turner and Dean O'Gorman [who played Thorin's nephews Fili and Kili] had to do it too. I remember poor old Aidan with his Irish accent trying to do my hybrid!"

The blockbuster fantasy films, of which more later, were released over the three Christmases between 2012 and 2014 and made a billion dollars each, sending their stars soaring into the stratosphere.

But back to Armitage's fabulous voice, because we're talking today about his smaller but no less perfectly formed role in a brilliant new spoken-word adaptation of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield for Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook and podcast app. Directed by Sam Mendes and starring Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa become the 14th Doctor Who on Christmas day Copperfield, the stunning ensemble production of the coming-of-age story also features Helena Bonham Carter, Jessie Buckley and Toby Jones. And it's perfectly timed too for the festive eason when England's greatest storyteller Christmas Carol has just celebrated its 180th anniversary - inevitably comes to the fore, and we gather with our families to hear and tell stories.