Join the hunt for Britain’s best storyteller

Bernard Cribbins and the Wombles have joined a nationwide hunt for Britain’s best amateur storyteller. Broadband provider TalkTalk is campaigning to get more families reading bedtime stories - with a chance to win £2,000.

To enter the competition, you need to record yourself reading a short extract from one of five classics: The Wombles, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Treasure Island, Oliver Twist or Little Red Riding Hood.

You can upload an MP3 or Audioboo recording, or enter by telephone. Full details are on the TalkTalk Tales website. The closing date is 13 March 2011.

Anyone can listen to the entries and rate them from one to five stars. The top 25 entries by public vote will then go through to the final, judged by Bernard Cribbins - who narrated the 1970s TV series of The Wombles and holds the record for the most appearances on the children’s storytelling series Jackanory.

The top prize for adults is £2,000, while runners-up will win Amazon Kindles and vouchers. For 12- to 16-year-olds there’s a £100 book voucher for the best entry, and a set of six Wombles books for runners-up.

If you’d like some inspiration from the expert, listen to Bernard Cribbins reading six classic Wombles adventures on the 1976 album Womble Stories, which has just been digitally remastered and released on CD in the Vintage Beeb range. You can buy the audiobook from Amazon and other book/CD stores, or download it from the publishers, AudioGO.

Watch Bernard Cribbins’ introduction to the TalkTalk Tales competition:

Update: Bernard Cribbins announces the winners (sadly, none of the Wombles entries reached the final ten):