Alright, class.

Julie Andrews is launching her own podcast, finally giving each and every single one of us a concrete reason to get up in the morning. The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins star will be bringing her beautiful and dulcet tones to an audience of thousands at the end of this month, as she launches Julie’s Library: Story Time With Julie Andrews. The podcast will consist of Andrews reading a selection of her own books for children and young adults. And regular adults too, let's be honest. “As a child, I read anything and everything I could get my hands on," she said. "There was no greater joy for me than to curl up with a good read. Books transported me away from the World War II Blitz and into the realm of my imagination and other worlds and ideas. “When I became a parent, I passed the love of reading on to my children.” Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton have authored over 30 children's books between them. The pair had decided to launch a podcast in due course, but the prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic made them want to pull forward the release date - to give everyone stuck in lockdown, young and old, the chance to experience a bit of magic. "Our shared passion for the power of storytelling, literacy, and the arts remains fervent," said Andrews. “It is our hope that the stories and ideas we share on Julie’s Library will provide family listening pleasure, inspire meaningful conversations, and be a trusted resource for literary enjoyment and learning. “At this extraordinary time, with families confined to their homes and in need of creative content and learning support, we have accelerated the show’s launch in order to bring it to audiences as soon as possible.” The first six episodes of Julie’s Library: Story Time With Julie Andrews will be available to download from April 29, with more episodes set for release each week.