Emma Clarke (born 1971) is an English writer of comedy and drama scripts, radio presenter and

voice-over artist Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

, best known as the voice of the automated messages on the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

. Most of Clarke's work has been used in television commercials and radio outside the United Kingdom, notably in the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States. She is also the presenter of Saturday breakfast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

Early life

Emma Clarke was born and raised in Sale,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

(now part of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

). She started a theatre company at age 17 which specialised in training for businesses and groups in both the public and private sector. On graduation she worked for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Light Entertainment, where she wrote and performed

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

, and

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

. Her father spotted an advert looking for voice over artists in the ''Sale and Altrincham Messenger''; after failing her first interview, she studied the art for two years before gaining her first paid work.

Career

In 1998, Clarke was approached by a media company representing one of the three companies that operated parts of the London Underground, who were looking for a replacement automated customer announcer. After 18 months of focus-group testing, in which her voice was dubbed "Marilyn", she was awarded a contract to produce announcements in 1999. She was dismissed by London Underground in 2007 after posting a series of spoof announcements, mocking tourists and commuters, on her own website. Between 2009 and 2017 her voice was replaced on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Victoria lines by announcements voiced by Sarah Parnell; with her voice on the Central Line being replaced by Adrian Hieatt due to the refurbishments.FOI request detail: Central Line (Request ID: FOI-4323-1718)
at

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

; published February 27, 2018; retrieved August 30, 2019 Her other clients include the

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, Classic FM,

Homebase Homebase was a British Home improvement center, home improvement and garden centre retailer that operated across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded by British supermarket chain Sainsbury's and Belgian retailer GIB Group, GB-Inno ...

and "3" mobile phones. Along with her solo work, she is the managing director of Just Add Voice, a company which provides voice-over tracks. In 2016, she voiced the starship Avalon in the

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

film '' Passengers'', which starred

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...

and

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...

. In 2023, she voiced The Lift in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

’s reality TV show '' Rise and Fall''. In October 2024, she started presenting Saturday breakfast on BBC Radio 3.

Personal life

Clarke, her husband, and their two children live in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

, Greater Manchester.

References

External links

Official siteJust Add VoiceSpoof London Underground Announcements
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Emma 1971 births Living people People from Sale, Greater Manchester English voice actresses People associated with transport in London

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links