On more than one occasion I was sure I wasn’t going to make it to the Crack of Doom! Having now completed the quest and been 'There and back again. Each day I genuinely went through ups and downs, often coinciding with the progress of the ring-bearer and his companions. 'I actually feel like I have lived through Tolkien’s saga, and felt his profound understanding of and connection to nature, love, war, truth, hatred and altruism.

Walking back into Middle-earth over 20 years after my first life-changing adventure there, and experiencing it all over again (this time for many weeks alone in a sound booth) has brought in equal measures of pure joy, sheer madness, immense pleasure and a level of psychological and physical fatigue I have never quite experienced the like of before. Serkis said: 'I would consider myself someone who likes a challenge. The same team has reunited to bring Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to a new generation of listeners. He then performed a new recording of The Hobbit audiobook, under the guidance of veteran producer Garrick Hagon at ID Audio, and executive-produced by HarperCollins’ editorial director for audio, Fionnuala Barrett. Last year Serkis embarked on his #Hobbitathon, a live, cover-to-cover reading of The Hobbit, in an 11-hour sitting with the intent to raise money for Covid-19 relief efforts, raising more than £300,000 for charity.

HarperCollins is releasing a new unabridged audiobook of J R R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in three parts in September, read by Andy Serkis, who starred as Gollum in the blockbuster movies. Andy Serkis records Lord of the Rings audiobooks for HarperCollins

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