Sara Mendes da Costa (born c. 1966) from Brighton became the fourth permanent holder of the iconic role of the voice of the UK Speaking Clock, first established in 1936, at 08:00 BST on 2 April 2007.

Biography

On 23 October 2006, to mark the BT clock reaching its 70th year, a competition was launched to find the new modern voice of the Speaking Clock. Applicants were invited to leave telephone recordings of their voice, with the proceeds of each call going to '' Children in Need''. Sara Mendes da Costa, a

telemarketer Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequen ...

and part-time

voiceover artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, was announced as the winner on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''Children in Need''

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

on 17 November 2006. She was the unanimous choice of a voting panel that included the clock's previous voice,

Brian Cobby Brian Cobby (12 October 192931 October 2012) was an English actor and telephone exchange worker who, in 1985, became the first male voice of the British speaking clock. Early life Cobby was born in Gravesend, Kent, the son of Amy and Sydney ...

, the BBC presenters

Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...

and

Alan Dedicoat Alan Dedicoat (born 1 December 1954) is an English announcer for programmes on BBC One. He is known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes, providing a voiceover for the draws since 1995. He was a BBC Radio 2 newsreade ...

, and Sir

Christopher Bland Sir Francis Christopher Buchan Bland (29 May 1938 – 28 January 2017) was a British businessman and politician. He was deputy chairman of the Independent Television Authority (1972), which was renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority in th ...

, chairman of

BT Group BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...

, the clock's providers. As the host of ''Children in Need'',

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

launched her voice on BBC Radio 2. She appeared as a "stranger" on the first UK episode of the game show ''

Identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

'' (broadcast on 27 August 2007), with the identity "Speaking Clock", and was successfully identified by that day's contestant. She was educated at

Dollar Academy Dollar Academy, founded in 1818 by John McNabb, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Scotland. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, at the foot of the Ochil Hills. Overview As of 20 ...

References

External links

Daily Telegraph Editorial
*Stephanie Ciccarelli

21 November 2006
Website of Sara Mendes da Costa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes da Costa, Sara Living people English voice actresses Clocks Telephone voiceover talent 1960s births People from Hemel Hempstead People educated at Dollar Academy English people of Portuguese descent