The voice of the telephone speaking clock belongs to a 72-year-old retiree from Brighton. WFI pays him a visit.
How did you become the voice of the speaking clock?
I moved to Brighton more than 30 years ago and got a
job with the Post Office, where I worked for 16 years.
In 1984, British Telecom [as the Post Office's telephone
arm became in 1981] decided to change the speaking clock. They ran a competition among the staff to find a replacement voice, which had to be clear and warm with no regional accent. After a series of regional heats, I beat a lady from Lowestoft in the final. She became the voice that says, "the number you have called has not been recognised." I became the voice of the speaking clock on 2 April 1985 at 11am, precisely. The telephone lines were jammed with people trying to listen.
How long did the announcements take to record?
Just an hour, but it was hard work. I recorded the times in a studio in London, where I had to read from a 33-page script. It was calculated mathematically [only 86 words are actually used], so I didn't have to go all the way round the clock. Later, we found that we hadn't taped the 'o' clock' so I had to drive back up to London just to record that.
Might we have heard your voice anywhere else?
Maybe. Before I worked for BT I was an actor. As well as films and some Shakespeare, I did a lot of voiceover work, mostly for commercials. In 1965, I did one of my most famous voiceovers: the countdown for Thunderbirds.
What do you like to prepare in your kitchen?
I like cooking pastas and traditional British food such as steak and kidney pie. My most enjoyable daily kitchen ritual, though, is to prepare my 6pm glass of Martini, shaken not stirred, which I have with a few nibbles.
Talk us through your favourite kitchen objects.
The coloured bottles of washing-up liquid on my window sill give me great pleasure. The colours are very pretty with the light streaming through them. The scales represent my starsign, Libra. I'm keen on astrology and always ask people I meet which sign they are.
The poster above them looks intriguing...
Yes, it's from a 1959 film I did, called The Nudist Story. It was billed as being shown in 'blushing technicolor'. Many years later, a Sunday paper ran a story, 'Speaking clock in nude movie'. The picture they printed of me was actually that of a boy who played my brother, who, alas, was
a lot skinnier than me. I had a great body in those days...
So what else do you get up to?
I have a scooter, which is great for popping to the shops.
I also like to chat to family and my 'parliament' of friends on the phone. I'm lucky enough to have friends who know me well, so I can turn to them when I need advice.