TV & Radio
Who are our Reading Champions?
These are all people who love to read. They believe that reading with children from a very young age can help in all kinds of ways as they grow older and start school.
Books are also a terrific way of getting to know children, finding out what their interests are, what makes them laugh and even what worries them. Children love having your attention, showing you what they see in the pictures and joining in as you read the story.
Richard is one of Scotland's most famous actors, probably best known as the endlessly grumpy Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave.
"I am a Reading Champion because books can open up new worlds for all of us. They can inform us, they can excite us and they can change our thinking. They are readily available and some of them become our closest friends which we can go back to again and again."
Louise is a broadcaster with Scottish Television, presenting Scotland Today on a regular basis.
"I'm a Reading Champion because the written word is the open door to our fascinating world."
To hear more from Louise, click here
Kirsty is one of Scotland's foremost journalists, dividing her life between her home, family and broadcasting commitments in Glasgow and regular news broadcasting in London.
"I'm a Reading Champion because reading is a way of creating your own world – it feeds the imagination and expands horizons. A good book is a wonderful friend – absorbing, rewarding and always there for a return visit either by conjuring up the story yourself time and again or by opening the pages once again. A good book will stay with you forever."
Andrea recently moved to Aberdeen with her family and works part–time as a presenter/reporter for North Tonight at Grampian Television. She is married with a little boy called Jacob.
"I'm a Reading Champion because as a Mum, I think children of all ages should be given the chance to sit with a book and allow their minds to be enriched as different worlds unfold around them."
To hear more from Andrea, click here
One of Scotland's best–loved comedians, Fred once dreamt of being an accountant. Now he appears on TV and radio comedy quiz programmes and hosts his own show every morning on BBC Radio Scotland. He's married with three children, is a keen skier and golfer with a temporarily high handicap. And he's also Rector of Dundee University.
"I'm a Reading Champion because I've seen the pleasure that books can bring to readers.....we've all seen someone reading and laughing out loud.....and what's the reaction? You want to read what they've just read! So do it!"
To hear more from Fred, click here
David is a singer songwriter who came to everybody's attention when he survived and won the Fame Academy television competition in 2002. He grew up in Paisley.
"I'm a Reading Champion because as a songwriter I empathise with the power of words to stir passion, imagination and escapism. A good book is like a good album – you can lose yourself and reach deeper into your emotional conscious."
Nick is a self–taught cook and a great champion of fresh Scottish ingredients. He is often on TV, appearing on such programmes as Ready, Steady, Cook, Wild Harvest and Island Harvest, and he's the author of Nick Nairn's 100 Salmon Recipes and New Scottish Cookery.
His favourite children's book is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
"I'm a Reading Champion because I seriously got into reading when I was about 8 years old, and even to this day books continue to give me great pleasure."
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