Shoebox Zoo
Siobhan Redmond is
Ailsa the Adder
Acclaimed Scottish actress Siobhan Redmond is the s-s-silken
voice behind Ailsa the Adder, the only female inhabitant of the Shoebox
Zoo.
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"I jumped at the chance to do it," laughs
the Glasgow-born star of Holby City and Between the Lines.
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"Not only is it a fantastic story, it gave me
the chance to play my animal alter ego.
"Ailsa is a tremendous character and I've always wanted to play
the voice of an animated animal. I get to do a lot of hissing Β–
snakes make so many great noises!"
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Siobhan spent three days in London in June 2003 recording
the voice of Ailsa alongside Simon Callow, Rik Mayall and her old pal
Alan Cumming, with whom she starred in the cult Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ sitcom about air
stewards, The High Life, back in the Eighties.
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"It was a fascinating experience," she says.
"Your voice is being recorded but they also film what you look
like when you are saying your lines, your facial expressions, how you
move and so on.
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"The four of us really only worked together on
one day because Alan had so many commitments, it was great to see him
again."
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Siobhan, 44, has played a wide range of characters on
stage, television and film, during her distinguished career.
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Just last year she starred as Edinburgh icon, Miss Jean
Brodie, in a critically acclaimed production of The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie at Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre.
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Her latest project is a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ sitcom called The Smoking
Room with Man About the House actress Paula Wilcox and Gosford Park
star Jeremy Swift.
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Siobhan admits she took an instant shine to the character
of Ailsa and couldn't believe how much she'd enjoyed doing the voice-over
recording session.
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"We all had great fun doing the recording. Simon,
who plays Wolfgang, turned out to be a great howler and after one particularly
brilliant howl, we all stopped to give him a round of applause.
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"But I really like Ailsa," she says. "She
doesn't trust anyone and she takes the temperature of every situation
very astutely. She's smart and I like to play smart.
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"I think CGI is a great idea because it can make
you better-looking each time. Ailsa is tremendous looking!"
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