E mily McGonagle was on maternity leave from her job as a lawyer, juggling the care of her new baby and her toddler son, when the daily diet of TV cartoons made her think about an unlikely career change.

Watching Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, her older son’s favourites, “it occurred to me: who does this job?”, says the 42-year-old from Essex . “How do you get into it? Even when I was watching TV commercials, I’d think: well, how do you do that?”

McGonagle had been commuting to her demanding legal job in London from the family home in Colchester, but was ready for a more flexible work-life balance. She had always loved performing in school plays and knew she had a talent for accents – so why not look into how to become a voice actor?

A decade on, she is voicing one of the most popular Netflix TV shows in the world. McGonagle plays eight characters in an animated series called Spike about a young dragon and his friends.…