Roger Tilling (born 17 October 1971, in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, England) is a British
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...
artist, and broadcaster. Since 2001 he has been the announcer for the BBC television quiz programme ''
University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
''.
Biography
Tilling is a graduate of
Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...
. He holds a degree in
Aeronautical Engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
and is a qualified
private pilot
A private pilot licence (PPL) or private pilot certificate is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The basic licence requirements are determined by the Inter ...
.
He began his broadcasting career in local radio. He worked at
Chiltern Radio in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
and
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
and
Oasis Radio
Heart Hertfordshire (previously known as ''Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6'') is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global Group, Global as part of the Heart (radio network), Heart network. It broadcasts a ...
(later Mercury 96.6 and Heart Hertfordshire) in Hertfordshire in 1995. He then moved into television working as a continuity announcer for
Westcountry Television
ITV Westcountry, formerly known as Westcountry Television and Carlton Westcountry, was the ITV franchise holder for the South West of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset. The co ...
(the
ITV region in the South West of England) in 1996. In 1997, he joined
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
as a continuity and promo voiceover. A year later, he moved to
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
and worked as a continuity and trailer voice-over for
Yorkshire Television
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
, Granada,
Tyne Tees and
Border Television
ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the Channel 3 service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the England/Scotland border region, covering most of Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, the ...
, as well as being a regular on-air voice of
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
in London (at the weekends from 1998 to 2002) and then for national ITV after the amalgamation of the ITV regions to London.
Whilst at Granada Television, he was asked to be the temporary announcer of ''
University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
'' for the 1997 series, and then returned permanently in 2001. He has remained the voice of the programme to date. His voice is heard at the start of every show introducing the presenter,
Amol Rajan
Amol Rajan (, ; born 4 July 1983) is an Indian–British journalist, broadcaster and writer working in the United Kingdom. Formerly the media editor of BBC News, he has been a presenter on the '' Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 since 2021 and ...
, and whenever a contestant buzzes or rings in for a starter question announcing their college and surname. The voice-overs are performed live in the studio and his voice is famously known for becoming noticeably more energetic towards the end of the programme.
As well as voicing radio and TV commercials for
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and
Travelocity
Travelocity.com is an online travel agency owned by the American Expedia Group. It has 12.4 million monthly unique visitors, making it the third most popular website owned by Expedia Group, after Expedia.com and Hotels.com.
One of the pionee ...
, he emerged on Granada Sky Broadcasting in 1999, before becoming the voice of the Hallmark Channel (now
Universal Channel
Universal TV, formerly Universal Channel, is an international pay television network specializing in movies and television series in the Thriller (genre), thriller, Drama (genre), drama, comedy, Horror (genre), horror, Crime (genre), crime and in ...
) since 2001 in 40 countries worldwide and
Movies 24
Movies 24 is a British pay television channel owned by NBCUniversal and operated by Sky Group. Launched on 26 June 2006, the channel primarily airs television films and shows originally broadcast on the Hallmark Channel.
For a full quarter of ea ...
since 2006.
Tilling has also been the voice of other game shows on various channels, including the 70-episode series of ''
Family Fortunes
''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...
'' aired from 2 September to 6 December 2002. BBC's ''
Panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'' producers have regularly brought him in for vocal contributions for their current affairs programmes since 2003.
In 2005
Channel 5 chose Tilling to voice the ''Man Eaters'' series of wildlife documentaries, and ''
Naked Science'' series of science documentaries. He has been the voice of
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is a brand of margarine,Calvani Terry. ''Antitrust Law Journal'', 1989, "Advertising Regulation: The States v. FTC. "...a nationally distributed butter substitute, 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.'") produced by ...
,
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and
Deep Heat television commercials in the UK. His voice can also be heard narrating documentaries for
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...
which are broadcast worldwide. In 2009 Tilling re-voiced ''Man Eaters'' for
ITV Global
ITV or iTV may refer to:
Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including:
**ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...
for worldwide distribution.
In April 2010 Tilling was chosen as the voice of
Shreddies
Shreddies are a breakfast cereal marketed in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It was first produced in Canada in 1939 by Nabisco. The ''Shreddies'' brand is held by Post Consumer Brands in Canada, and Nestlé in the United Kingdom and I ...
television commercials starring
Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...
, promoting the advertising campaign for "More Knitting Nanas Needed".
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
chose him for its ''
Soccer AM
''Soccer AM'' was a British football-based comedy talk show, produced by Sky Sports. It aired from 20 August 1994 to 27 May 2023 on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football. From 2010, the programme was put on a short b ...
'' sponsorship campaign with
Head & Shoulders
Head & Shoulders (H&S) is an American brand of anti- dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo produced by parent company Procter & Gamble.
The active anti-fungal ingredient in Head & Shoulders is piroctone olamine or zinc pyrithione, with some "cl ...
.
In November 2012 Tilling was asked to be the announcer at the 100th
Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
, introducing Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
to the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. He has also been the voice of
The British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and hav ...
and many other major television ceremonies.
Denso
is a global automotive components manufacturer headquartered in the city of Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
After becoming independent from Toyota Motor, the company was founded as in 1949. About 25% of the company is owned by Toyota. Despi ...
has used Tilling as the English voice of its in-car
satellite navigation
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are ope ...
systems for factory-fitted models in
Land Rover
Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...
,
Range Rover
The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...
,
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
and
Toyota
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
cars since 2005. He has over 20 years of live radio and TV experience. In 2010
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
selected Tilling as the voice of its worldwide inflight entertainment.
Personal life
Tilling is based in London.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilling, Roger
1971 births
Living people
Mass media people from Hertfordshire
Radio and television announcers
Alumni of Queen Mary University of London
Game show announcers
British male voice actors