Like
Mithalwen, I became interested in Tolkien when, as a child, I saw the televised
Jackanory adaptation of
The Hobbit. I agree that the voices were done really well, particularly that of Bilbo done by Bernard Cribbins.
Interestingly enough, though I liked the story, it was not until later, when I was 12, that I actually read
The Hobbit. My family was moving house, and when we were packing up things, a copy my parents had turned up, which they let me read. The same was true of a copy of
The Lord of the Rings, though it took me far longer to read that!