Emma Clarke

Emma Clarke (born 1971) is an English writer of comedy and drama scripts and an award-winning voice-over artist, best known as the voice of the automated messages on the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City[1] lines of the London Underground. 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.

Not to be confused with Emma Clarke (footballer).
For those of a similar name, see Emma Clark (disambiguation).

Early life

Emma Clarke was born and raised in Sale, Cheshire (now part of Greater Manchester). She started a theatre company at age 17 which specialised in training for businesses and groups in both the public and private sector.[2] On graduation she worked for BBC Light Entertainment, where she wrote and performed poetry, prose, and drama.

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.[2]

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.[2] She was dismissed by London Underground in 2007 after posting a series of spoof announcements, mocking tourists and commuters, on her own website.[3] Between 2009 and 2017 her voice was replaced on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Victoria lines by announcements voiced by Sarah Parnell.[4]

Her other clients include the BBC, Gillette, Virgin, Classic FM, Homebase and "3" mobile phones.[5][6] Along with her solo work, she is the managing director of Just Add Voice, a company which provides voice-over tracks.[5]

In 2016, she voiced the starship Avalon in the Sony Pictures film Passengers, which starred Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. In 2023, she voiced The Lift in Channel 4’s reality TV show Rise and Fall.

Personal life

Clarke, her husband, and their two children live in Altrincham.[2]

See also

References
  1. "LU: The Waterloo & City line" (jump to 3:20) Luftschlange - YouTube
  2. "Lunchworks with Emma Clarke". dovetailtogether.co.uk. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  3. Reuters Staff (26 November 2007). "Announcer sacked over spoof messages". Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2021. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  4. FOI request detail: Central Line annoncements [sic] (Request ID: FOI-4323-1718), at Transport for London; published February 27, 2018; retrieved August 30, 2019
  5. "Voice talent biography: Emma Clarke". Just Add Voice. 2003. Archived from the original on 27 February 2004.
  6. Lowe, Felix (26 November 2007). "End of the line for Tube voiceover woman". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 May 2010.


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