Tales from the Tannoy
Everyone has a story to tell. Even robots. Have you ever wondered about the lives behind the people who provide the soundtrack to your life? Probably not. Did you even realise they ARE real people? Perhaps. Did you know that two of the voices on the London Underground are a married couple who work together all day long, even though one of them is dead? Did you know that the voice in your SatNav has a broken heart? Did you know that the calm, reassuring voice that accompanies your daily life has had a life punctuated by tragedy? Tales from the Tannoy tells the true life stories behind the voices you hear every day.
Episodes
24 episodes
Series 2, Episode 9: Post Partum Pandemic
For many of us, our homeschooling efforts during Covid have involved plonking the kids in front of a laptop or tablet, so that the digital school teacher can guide them through their phonics.But who does the calm but engaging voice belo...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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41:11
Series 2, Episode 8: To Infinity and the Great Beyond
Most of the voices we hear in our day-to-day lives are anonymous. They tell us to put our shopping in the bag, or to stand clear of the doors please. In Hollywood movies, though, the voices we hear are often famous faces as well as voi...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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27:20
Series 2, Episode 7: A Winning Comeback
Trish Bertram will be familiar to television viewers as the continuity voice which has appeared between programmes on and off for years. In her view, though, her finest hour was when she became the voice of the Olympics. (But only just.)
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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37:32
Series 2, Episode 6: Matched, Hatched, Dispatched
Gina Mellotte has one of the most gloriously resonant voices in the business, so it's no wonder hers has been chosen to read out some of the most famous and celebrated names of all - at the BAFTA awards.But away from the microphone, tha...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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32:30
Series 2, Episode 5: Not Checking Out
Everyone has a love-hate relationship with that voice at the self service checkout in Tesco which tells us to "please rescan the item and try again". But who's the voice behind it, and what's his story? And did you know he's a hero... as well a...
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21:30
Series 2, Episode 4: Balls to Buses
One of Britain's best-loved voices belongs to Alan Dedicoat - the man whose dulcet tones could make a millionaire out of... well... anyone.His is the voice that announces the winning numbers on the National Lottery draws, but he's also ...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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33:32
Series 2, Episode 3: Anarchy Descending
Tanya Rich's voice can be heard inside the lift which takes visitors up and down one of Britain's tallest buildings - the BT Tower. Although she sounds calm and sensible, her early years were neither of those things. (And, even now...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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34:46
Series 2, Episode 2: Critically Speaking
To viewers of Channel 4, Barra Fitzgibbon's voice is familiar even if his name is not.His gentle Irish lilt has introduced countless programmes, but in the last couple of years his voice has disappeared from the airwaves and he's now us...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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34:00
Series 2, Episode 1: Turns Out, I Was Right
Janey Godley has spent lockdown livening up Nicola Sturgeon's coronavirus briefings with her alternative voiceovers. She's made the nation laugh through the toughest of times, but who is the woman behind the voice? Tales from the Ta...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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32:47
Series 1, Episode 15: Showgirls, Springer, and Shepherd's Bush
Emma Hignett's voice is heard on all the London buses, and she's employed for sounding clear and composed. But the woman behind that sound hasn't always been entirely sensible. In Episode 15, the voice of the London Overground speaks to the voi...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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26:45
Series 1, Episode 14: Goats and Gay Bars
Mike Cooper's voice is perfect for the BBC - calm and assured; neutral but engaging. For many years he was heard across the World Service imparting news and current affairs... but a completely different kind of affair turned his world upside do...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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39:29
Series 1, Episode 13: Sleeping Beauty
The same tragic story told from two very different perspectives. Della and Abi Phillips are both voiceover artists who can be heard all over the place, from phone lines to radio adverts. Mum Della sounds cool and in control. Daughter Abi... jus...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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53:32
Series 1, Episode 12: Scooby Doo's Big Headache
Marc Silk is the voice of a number of characters on film and television: Scooby Doo, Go Jetters, Thunderbirds, Star Wars, Bob the Builder and more. But a brain tumour in childhood actually led him towards a very happy future, while his dad's wo...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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29:57
Series 1, Episode 11: The Food of Love
Every night across America, Anna Vocino's voice is heard by millions as the voice of NBC. She sounds fun, cheeky, and engaging... and she is. But that's because she's managed to put past traumas behind her - and cook her way into health and hap...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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30:42
Series 1, Episode 10: From Belfast to Bin Lorries
Most of the voices we hear every day are completely anonymous, and the people behind them are a mystery... but every now and again, a voice is so familiar that it becomes a celebrity in its own right. In a lighthearted look back at his career, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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29:12
Series 1, Episode 9: Black Voices Matter
Elinor Hamilton talks to Rio Attoh-Wood - the voice of Capital Xtra - about the Black Lives Matter movement. He describes his experiences of growing up as a young black man in the UK, his feelings in the wake of George Floyd's death, and his ho...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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41:36
Series 1, Episode 8: Unexpected Item in the Bag
We've all shouted at that voice at the checkout when she tells us there's an unexpected item in the bagging area. But did you know there's a real person behind the voice? Her life began in Hollywood and ended up on the breadline. She knows how ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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31:10
Series 1, Episode 7: Spliced and Sliced
Rik Scott is the man behind the cool but anonymous voice heard on many of the UK's hottest radio stations. But behind that super-hip sound is a guy who has fallen apart on air and off. Elinor Hamilton talks to him about his mental health, multi...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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34:28
Series 1, Episode 6: In A World...
Elinor Hamilton talks to Redd Pepper, whose voice is heard worldwide on movie trailers, video games, and on a whole range of adverts you'll almost certainly be familiar with. But while Elinor's husband is remembered as the voice of the London U...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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31:45
Series 1, Episode 5: May Contain Nuts
Elinor Hamilton talks to Katy Maw, whose voice guides shoppers to the latest offers in the supermarket - and elsewhere. She sounds perfectly composed and tantalisingly persuasive... but it hasn't always been this way. Recorded in March 2020. Pr...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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35:41
Series 1, Episode 4: The Tiger Who Came To Breakfast
Elinor Hamilton talks to Tom Clarke-Hill, the voice of Tony the Tiger, whose catchphrase on the Kellogg's Frosties TV commercials ("they're grrrreat!") delighted a generation of children. At home, though, his family life was not so easy. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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31:08
Series 1, Episode 3: The Year the News Broke
Every night across the UK, the evening news is introduced by the same voice. She has always sounded calm, composed, and confident. That delivery has never wavered, even when life away from the microphone left her feeling quite the opposite. Eli...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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44:43
Series 1, Episode 2: The Final Destination
Elinor Hamilton talks to Jon Briggs - the original voice of Siri in the UK, and the voice inside many sat navs - about the psychological impact of his heart attack, and his "other" job... sending people to their final destination. Recorded at J...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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31:38
Series 1, Episode 1: Underground Love
The true life love story of the married couple who announce the trains together on London Underground. Phil Sayer is the man behind the iconic "Mind the Gap" announcement on many of the London Underground lines, and although he died in 2016 his...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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42:32