VC: How many times have you been to America?

GCD: The 2001 Holiday Tour will be my sixth visit, although I came for a few smaller events prior to that time. In my trips, especially during the last five years, I have been fortunate to visit almost every part of the United States of America. Indeed, I've probably seen more of the USA than I have of Great Britain!

VC: How do you find the reception from people in the United States?

GCD: Always I have been so well treated by everyone that I've met in America--from those who work closely with me, to those who sponsor events, to hotel check-in clerks and car rental staff, waiters and waitresses, to those who attend events. I can honestly say that I adore the warmth and hospitality of the American people.

VC: What is your favorite Dickens story, and why?

GCD: Hmmm....a much-asked question and one that I'm still struggling to find an answer to! A Christmas Carol has been so good to me over the years, and I adore performing it because it has every emotion and a huge range of characterization, so from an actor's point of view that's the one. Personally, I love Great Expectations and much of the countryside in which it is set (for example the graveyard of the opening chapter), is very close to me, and I can easily imagine Charles walking and developing the settings.

Nicholas Nickelby is also a favourite because it was whilst watching the Royal Shakespeare Company's eight-hour production of the book that I first realised what FUN Charles Dickens could be.

VC: Who else would you list as favorite authors of yours, and why?

GCD: I have little time to read it seems, except during air travel. At college, I studied The Great Gatsby and became very fond of F. Scott Fitzgerald; always I pay a visit to his statue in St. Paul's Rice Park. Jerome K. Jerome is another favourite. The only other author who I have studied in depth is James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming. I find the Bond novels such a wonderful snapshot of the era in which they were written, much as Dickens's novels are to the Victorian era. I've even incorporated a James Bond bit in my show "Mr. Dickens Is Coming!"

VC: How are you related to Charles--that is to say, who begat who that begat who that begat you?

GCD: My great-grandfather was Henry Fielding Dickens, Charles's 8th child (or Henry 8th as I like to think of him!). Henry was an eminent lawyer and rose to the high rank of Sergeant at Arms. Henry was knighted in 1922. Henry had seven children, the third of whom was Gerald, my grandfather. Gerald was an extremely successful Admiral in the British Navy, and he was also knighted in 1937. Admiral Sir Gerald Dickens had three sons, the youngest of which was my father, David. Dad had a career in the Navy, and then became a medical publisher. I am the youngest of four, with two older sisters (Elizabeth and Nicola), with a brother (Ian), between them.

VC: How does being the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens affect your life?

GCD: Being a relation of Charles Dickens takes me to a lot of wonderful places and introduces me to a lot of wonderful people. This year I will be present at the memorial service at Westminister Abbey to lay a wreath. The last time I was present was in 1970, when the Queen Mother was the guest of honour!

I have also been elected as the president of the Rochester Branch of the