Emily McGonagle transitioned from practicing law in London to working as a voice actor, citing the need for greater flexibility after becoming a parent. The 42-year-old had worked as a lawyer with late hours that often extended to 03:00, commuting daily from Colchester to Canary Wharf before deciding to pursue a different career path in 2019.
McGonagle was inspired by watching children’s television programs with her toddlers and became curious about voice acting work. Despite lacking a professional acting background, she invested in home studio equipment and spent several months auditioning for roles. She completed a six-week acting course in London and began with commercial work through Google before gradually building her portfolio through acting groups in Colchester.
Three years ago, McGonagle auditioned for the animated series Spike, where she now provides voices for eight characters. The show, created by Lithuanian company Bored Panda, originally launched as a YouTube preschool animation called Fire Spike! and has grown from fewer than 1,000 subscribers to 1.25 million. Following its Netflix premiere on 12 October, Spike became the platform’s number one children’s show in the UK and ranked as the seventh most-watched Netflix series globally during its inaugural week.
Bored Panda’s head of animation, Jonas Dovydaitis, expressed enthusiasm about the show’s global reach through the streaming platform. McGonagle described the project’s success as beyond her initial expectations, reflecting on how far she has come from wondering about voice acting while watching other children’s programs with her family.
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