What did you read as a child?

As a child, I loved Enid Blyton, Enid Blyton and more Enid Blyton. I loved the Famous Five and St Clare’s and Mallory Towers, so much so that I was desperate to go to boarding school and play lacrosse. I can remember vividly borrowing the same books from the library over and over again.

Do you have any stand out reading memories?

Reading memories are of summer holidays where I would sit and read a book from cover to cover – two and a half hours was probably my record. I had a fabulous teacher in Year 4 called Mrs Gildroyd who read ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians,’ by Dodie Smith to us. She did a fabulous West Country accent for Cruella De Vil’s henchmen.

What do you enjoy reading now?

Now, I read a lot of children’s books to keep up to date. I am enjoying ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ at the moment. When I do get the chance to read a grown-up book, I like a crime novel such as John Grisham.

What are your 'desert island' books?

My desert island books would be, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar, The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge and Emma by Jane Austen.