CLAUDIA RENTON trained as a choral singer. Without any formal training Claudia won a part in the BBC dramatization of The Cazales - her favourite book since she was ten. Her natural talent and enthusiasm have ensured frequent appearances on stage and screen since: she is a regular in the Granada series Distant Shores, and has appeared in the films 1969, You're In There, Extra Pepper and Dead Bolt Dead. She recently appeared on stage in the RSC's production of Thomas Middleton's Women Beware Women: it was her singing as Ganymede in this which drew attention to her suitabilty for the challenge of reading (and singing) Gatty'sTale.