Neil Gaiman Confirmed as Opening Voice for THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW UK Tour

Best-selling author Neil Gaiman will be our opening 'Voice Of The Book' for the 2013 tour of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE at London's Hackney Empire. Neil was a good friend of Douglas Adams and is a close member of the Hitchhikers family, having triumphantly closed last year's tour in Edinburgh. This is the first of two appearances Neil will be making on the London stage this autumn - a month later he returns with a special event to mark the publication of his new book, FORTUNATELY THE MILK, published in the UK by Bloomsbury on October 14

Dr Who star Colin Baker, comedienne Shappi Korshandi and Star Wars' Anthony Daniels (C3PO) have been confirmed as just three of the plethora of special VIP guests who will join the 2013 UK tour of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE!, as THE VOICE OF THE BOOK. They will join Simon Jones ('Arthur Dent'), other members of the original cast and comedian Mitch Benn ('Zaphod Beeblebrox') at various venues around the UK. Other Voices of the Book include Bill Paterson, Lord of the Rings' star Billy Boyd, Phill Jupitus, Clive Anderson, John Challis, Hugh Dennis, and John Lloyd, with others to be announced later in the summer (current schedule below). Best-selling author Neil Gaiman will open the tour as the Voice of the Book at the Hackney Empire.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy originated as a radio series and one of its most unique elements was a Narrator - "THE VOICE OF THE BOOK" - who punctuated the action by reading out Hitchhiker's Guide Entries in a friendly if slightly quizzical way. Over the five Hitchhiker's radio series the Voice was played first by the acerbic Peter Jones and then by the avuncular William Franklyn. Both these much-loved voices are sadly gone, and so for this new live radio version of the show, guest 'Voices' will join the original radio cast on stage to re-create Douglas Adams's unique masterpiece. All are fans of the Hitchhiker's books and many have personal connections to Douglas either as friends or through his work.

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY became an instant classic on its launch as a radio series. In 2012 Douglas Adams's creation exploded back into life as a ground-breaking stage production - a radio show like never before, packed with laughter, robots, really wild sound effects and drinks with extremely silly names.

Adapted from Douglas Adams' novels and directed by Dirk Maggs, Douglas Adams's choice to conclude the saga in its original medium, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE! proved an overwhelming hit when it first toured in 2012. It was seen by over 35,000 people, with fans young and old discovering and re-discovering Vogons, Babel Fish, Marvin the Paranoid Android and exploring the unique and hilarious Whole General Mish Mash According To Douglas Adams.

Arthur Dent is having a bad day.

His planet has been demolished. He can't find a decent cup of tea.

And he's still wearing his dressing gown.

For more information, visit: www.hitchhikerslive.com