Marcus Morgan Bentley (born 4 October 1967) is a British actor, broadcaster and voice-over artist. Bentley is most known for narrating the UK version of the Dutch reality television programme ''

Big Brother Big Brother may refer to: * Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' ** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control ** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...

'' since its inception in 2000, until the series' end in 2018. He also did other continuity announcements for Channel 4 until he left in July 2011 to continue narrating the revived ''Big Brother'' on Channel 5. Bentley's voice-over work and distinctive

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

accent has led to him becoming one of Britain's most recognised voices. Bentley has also appeared on stage and in '' London's Burning''. Although he rarely makes public appearances, his public profile has been raised since ''Big Brother''s revival on Channel 5.

Early life

Bentley was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, and brought up in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

. He attended East 15 Acting School.

''Big Brother''

Bentley was selected as the narrator of the Channel 4 (2000–2010) and Channel 5 (2011–2018) reality television programme ''

'', which originated in the Netherlands, and this remains his best-known work. The producers of ''Big Brother'' gave him the job of narrator because they liked the way he said "Chickens". His most notable catchphrase is "Day (in the Big Brother house...)". Bentley has narrated all nineteen series of the show to date, as well as the spin-off shows '' Celebrity Big Brother'', '' Teen Big Brother'', ''

Celebrity Hijack ''Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack'' was a special series of ''Celebrity Big Brother'', a spin-off series of the British reality television programme '' Big Brother''. It was broadcast on E4 from 3–28 January 2008. A number of closely associated ...

'' and '' Ultimate Big Brother''. Despite not being confirmed, Bentley is expected to narrate Big Brother again following the announcement that

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...

would be reviving the show in 2023, stating in news reports that he had been having calls and updates from producers.

Other work

Before ''Big Brother'', Bentley starred in several TV adaptations of Catherine Cookson's novels where he honed his now familiar Teesside accent. He also starred in several TV commercials as well as minor parts in feature films, such as '' Mad Dogs and Englishmen'', which starred

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...

, C. Thomas Howell, and Elizabeth Hurley. Aside from ''Big Brother'', Bentley could be heard on Channel 4 as a continuity announcer until he left after ten years, when he reprised his ''Big Brother'' narrator role on the revived Channel 5 series. Another of Bentley's roles is the unseen question master on ''

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

'' quiz show, ''

Dirty Money Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

''.

Channel 5

From December 2011, Bentley began doing continuity links on Channel 5, complementing his role as narrator of ''Big Brother'' on the same channel.

Personal life

Bentley married his wife Jools in 1997. The couple have three children, and live in Kent.

References

External links

Marcus Bentley – TV Tome
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Marcus 1965 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of East 15 Acting School English game show hosts English male television actors English male voice actors Actors from Gateshead Actors from Stockton-on-Tees Actors from County Durham