Lorelei King

Once described as 'the best-known American voice on Radio 4', she has played roles as varied as Patricia Cornwell's forensic detective Kay Scarpetta and Groucho Marx's sidekick.

(On her favourite author, Gerald Kersh): "Gerald Kersh, Gerald Kersh, Gerald Kersh,' who wrote about London in the 30s and 40s. "I discovered a book of his in a second-hand bookshop when I was 11, and was immediately hooked! Tales of seedy London nightlife and Cockney rhyming slang were so exotic to a pre-teen from Pittsburgh!"