"I am in full support of the 'Signed Stories' project. When I was very little my Mother would read to me. Having a story read to me was the best feeling in the world as a child, and indeed I still love having books read to me now! It allowed my imagination to run wild, and I loved seeing a page being turned over, to reveal an illustration of which I could compare to the picture I had conjured up in my mind."

Julia Sawalha is an English actress who first gained public recognition in the award-winning teenage series Press Gang. She has since been known for her roles as Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television series of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.