Gromit finally speaks his truth!

Never mind Morecambe and Wise, or Fry and Laurie, Britain’s most successful comedy duo by a long chalk is Wallace and Gromit.

The inventor and his dog made their debut in 1989’s A Grand Day Out and are the stars of, so far, four short films and two feature-length movies. Each has been nominated for an Oscar and three have won.

Children adore them because of the silly slapstick, surreal stories and Wallace’s bonkers inventions. Adults love them because the films are packed with witty wordplay and brilliant sight gags.

Stop-motion animation fans of all ages appreciate the incredible amount of skill, artistry and sheer hard work that goes into them.

Aardman, the Bristol company that makes the films, produces about three seconds of usable footage a day.

Now Gromit, famously mute on screen, is finally breaking his silence. He has always been the brains of the pair. As he remarks in this, his memoir and first book, Wallace ‘could expound for an hour on the merits of butter over marge, but I’m not sure he knew or cared who the prime minister was’.

In contrast, Gromit is curious and a keen reader. He loves the classics such as Bark House and Jane Airedale and is familiar with the work of leading deep thinkers such as Germaine Grrrrr and Jean-Paw Sartre.

His book retells the story of the pair’s screen adventures from his perspective. We get further insights into their life in 62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan, and into what Gromit really thinks of Wallace, his ‘human’ – never ‘owner’. ‘Calling our humans owners is a psyop put about by cats to make us feel small,’ he reveals.

We learn more about their friends and foes, including, of course, their arch-enemy, the criminal mastermind penguin, Feathers McGraw (although Gromit dismisses him as no more than a ‘petty criminal’).

We hear about Wallace’s failed inventions, such as ‘Ready Brik’, the porridge you can build with, and the ‘HairFryer’.

There is, naturally, much talk of cheese. Wensleydale is tops, Cheddar is great, Double Gloucester quite acceptable but Gromit admits to finding stilton hard going because of his super-keen sense of smell.

And there’s a book-long mystery about the lost treasure of local eccentric Lord Mellington Urpeth, which Gromit takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of.

This is aimed at the younger fan but some of the jokes will sail over their heads and there’s plenty for the more mature admirer to enjoy. And I think the audiobook – it turns out Gromit sounds remarkably like the actor Martin Freeman – will be a family favourite. All in all, it’s a cracking read, Gromit.