I am pleased to say that it got her hooked too! During "The Voice of Saruman," I would always try to make Saruman sound like a most gentle and reasonable chap....until the line "Gibets and Crowsss!!!" Then I would cut loose with a malevolent hiss. It was great fun!

I've always thought that Grima had felt remorse. Nobody who was not an Orc (or Sauron himself!) was totally evil in Lord of the Rings. Even Saruman himself was shown to have struggled for a few terrible moments before rejecting Gandalf's offer to "come down." Tolkien hints that Grima may have wished to join forces with the hobbits after the defeat of Saruman (Gandalf and Frodo's constant offers to Grima indicate that they must have been aware of his internal struggle) but was prevented by his own cowardice and a miserable sort of pride (leaving Saruman would be admitting that he had made a horrible mistake.)

Anyway, that's my impression.