Martin Freeman to narrate Gromit’s first autobiography audiobook

Martin Freeman will narrate the audiobook of Gromit’s first autobiography, creator Nick Park told the Guardian in a report published on 9 October 2026. The audio edition of Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit is due on 22 October, according to publisher Penguin. For listeners, it will be the first chance to hear the thoughts of Wallace’s usually silent companion in a story presented as his own.

Park described the choice as a challenge created by the audio format. Gromit has appeared on screen for 37 years without speaking, and his expressions have carried much of what audiences understand about him. An audiobook of a first-person account, however, needs somebody to read the words. Park said Freeman was the obvious choice and that he was thrilled when the actor agreed.

How Martin Freeman will read Gromit’s story

Park drew a distinction between giving Gromit a new spoken performance and reading the character’s written perspective. “Martin is not doing a Gromit ‘voice’ as such,” he told the Guardian. Instead, Freeman is reading the story as Gromit put it, including what Park called his “inner thoughts, his candid insights and endless witticisms.” That description makes the recording a way into the character’s point of view, while leaving the familiar screen portrayal in its established form.

The Guardian identified Freeman as the actor who played Dr John Watson in Sherlock and appeared in The Hobbit films. Park did not describe a new animated speaking role for Gromit. His comments concern Freeman’s reading of the forthcoming autobiography, and the publisher’s catalogue confirms an audio-download edition without naming the narrator on the listing checked for this story.

When Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit is due

Penguin lists 22 October 2026 as the release date for Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit. Its catalogue offers an audio download alongside hardback and ebook formats, and identifies Ebury Digital as the imprint for the audio edition. The listing gives that edition a length of 364 minutes, an ISBN of 9781529993097 and a listed price of £14.00. Those are catalogue details for a release that was still forthcoming when the Guardian published Park’s comments.

The publisher’s description speaks in Gromit’s first person. It presents the book as his own account of what goes on behind his eyes, while folding Wallace and his inventions into the setup. The title credits it as Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit, as told to Nick Park. That framing explains why the audio edition calls for a reader: the written work is built around thoughts the screen character has never spoken aloud.

Readers looking for the recording can find the format and release information on Penguin’s catalogue page. The page confirms that an audio edition is planned, but the casting detail in this report comes from Park’s remarks to the Guardian. Neither source establishes how the finished recording will sound beyond Park’s description of Freeman’s approach; the audiobook had not been released when those remarks appeared.

Gromit’s history on screen

Park first introduced Wallace & Gromit in 1989, according to Penguin. The publisher describes him as a four-time Academy Award winner, with honours linked to Wallace & Gromit shorts and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The Guardian also points to The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave among the series’ Oscar-winning films. The new book therefore gives a long-established character a different means of telling a story, rather than introducing him to audiences for the first time.

Another Wallace & Gromit project is scheduled close to the book’s publication. The Guardian reported that Larger Than Life, an immersive experience at Lightroom in King’s Cross, London, was set to open on 14 October. It is a separate project from the autobiography and its recording. For the audiobook, the next confirmed date is Penguin’s 22 October release listing; Park’s account of the casting is the available explanation for how Gromit’s words will be heard.