John Thomson voices Mayor Sir Otto Sneer, Alston Negative, Dr Skully and Niles Farr in Scream Street...

How would you describe the show to someone who knows nothing about it?

The show is about a residential street where all the monster families live together: the mummies (the Farr family), the vampires (the Negatives) and the werewolves to name a few. It's a safe haven for monsters where they are all accepted. They are kindred spirits with a great community feel.

How is the show different to other animation?

It uses the traditional stop-motion animation method. It's painstakingly done with a great quality about it. There's something nice about the fact that we're still doing that - we've gone back to the old school. Also, it looks completely different to anything else that is aimed at that age group.

Can you tell us about the character Otto and why you chose the voice you did?

I suppose Otto Sneer is my favourite character to do because he has a unique voice. He's not based on anyone in particular, I've not drawn on anyone to create him. He's the corrupt evil mayor, and loathes every monster on Scream Street - with the irony being that he is the true monster on Scream Street.

He's human, so really he's just a corrupt, horrible man that will do anything to make money and exploit the poor monsters that aren't monsters at all - really they're all very nice.

What about Alston Negative?

He's really nice, Alston, but he is slightly disappointed that his son, Resus, is not a fully-fledged vampire. Resus is still technically a vampire but he wasn't handed out all the good stuff - the speed blurring movement, the ability to turn into a bat and so on - but it's still a happy house, with blood on tap all the time!

There are quite a few times when the family do the bat transformation and they use that to their advantage to attack Otto, which if I lived on Scream Street I would take great pleasure in doing!

Obviously because of the Transylvanian origins I had to go down that line whilst making it a little different from the usual Dracula voice. It's my take on it.

Is there anything special to look out for in the series with any of your characters?

We've got a few things to look forward to: we've got a discombobulater that can split people's personalities up, a magic mirror that can make different versions of people. You never know what's round the corner in Scream Street; anything can happen. That's the beauty of the supernatural.

You voice a variety of weird and wonderful monsters on Scream Street. Can you relate to any of them and is there any of your own personality in there?

This is my absolute dream job because ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and monsters are my thing. I like comics and sci-fi and horror, so to work on something that's based on vampires, werewolves and mummies is a joy for me.

How does it differ voicing an animated character to playing a character in vision?

The difference in doing an animated character is that you've got to create a picture with your voice. The models speak for themselves, but you have to up your game - it has to be caricatured. It has to be heightened to portray the character, as they're not ordinary people. Because it's in the supernatural realm, the fantasy world of monsters, it's always good to put it into sixth gear and to push it a bit more. Clarity is also very important.

How long would you spend recording in the sound booth?

The sessions are 10am-6pm, and we record the voices first. Some people think it is done in real time but this is stop-motion, which is a much more finite process. The sync is applied to the characters later.

Do the cast record together?

Most of the characters appear in the same scenes together and the ensemble pieces are very small parts, so most of my scenes are with Debra Stephenson. We do a lot of work together as most of our scenes are together, but for the ensemble pieces we slot in lines.

What's it like working with Debra and the other cast members?

I've known Debra for years. We do voices, but Debra and I do impressions too, and as there are not many impressionists in the UK we all know each other - it's like the mutants all hanging out together! Inevitably you'll end up working together. I've done drama with her too; she's like my little sister.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a voice actor?

My advice would be try your voices out on your friends, keep practicing, and if you're good people will tell you. See if you can make them laugh but don't drive them mad like I used to! You'll find a voice you love and do it over and over and drive the people you live with mad.

What is going to get everyone excited about Scream Street?

It's new, it's different, it has got a great look to it, and has a great voice cast. The scripts are very funny as well, and I think all of this is a winning formula.

Parents will watch it with their kids and there is something in there for both of them. There's always something to keep the adults entertained as well as the kids, and that is the sign of a good writer.

I think it should appeal to anybody. Monsters are a bit scary but these are friendly monsters - I think it's good family viewing!