I have the most recognizable voice in Britain, but no one knows it's me. It's like I'm living a double life

A voiceover artist who has appeared in hundreds of TV and radio adverts says she lives a double life – as the 'most iconic voice' but 'least recognizable face in Britain'. '

Emily Cass, 25, from South London, has recorded hundreds of adverts, radio inserts and TV shows and has been the voice of brands including Lidl, Co-op and Samsung.

She is also a continuity announcer for Nick Jr. and Channel 5's Milkshake, where she says things like 'coming up next, Peppa Pig' and 'time for Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom' in between programmes.

She rarely tells people what she does for a living because she often gets requests to “give us a voice” and hears others say they can “easily do that.” '

But Emily says it can be fun to feel like she's living a double life, and she wants to work as a voiceover artist for the rest of her life.

She says her rates vary – but she follows a standard rate card for voice acting – including £250 for a standard TV appearance with adverts or continuity.

'Someone once asked me what it feels like to have Britain's most iconic voice. “I like that, but I hate it when people bring it up,” she said.

'It's funny, I'd be shopping or driving and I'd hear my own voice on the radio and I'd think, 'that's me!'

'It's such a different kind of work, my voice is really everywhere.'

Despite never having any formal training as a voice actor, Emily realized this was what she wanted to do after meeting an extra from the animated film Flushed Away at a drama summer camp in July 2012.

She said: 'I've always been a chatterbox, I grew up with theater and art, and I went to a drama summer camp in July 2012 when I was 14.'

'One of the teachers was a voice actor for Flushed Away. I thought that was so cool that it became a defining moment in my career.'

'I got really excited about the idea of ​​becoming a voice artist, and from a young age I knew this was what I wanted to do. '

“I remember my science teacher telling me that I wouldn't pass my final exams, and I thought, 'Okay, I don't want to do this anyway.'

At the age of 20, Emily spent £1,000 on recording equipment, including a top-quality microphone, headphones and a recording interface.

She hired a one-off producer for £250, and they helped her put together a voice reel to send to employers.

As Emily was just starting her career, she had nothing to contribute to the film – but she decided to read scripts aimed at 'children and teenagers' – because she felt her voice sounded immature. '

The reel included CBeebies inserts, children's toys and student open days – as well as an NHS chlamydia awareness campaign.

She said: 'I came in at 20 and I sounded very young. You have a lot of voice-over artists aimed at children, but hardly any for teenagers or graduates.'

'I found myself focusing on the teenagers. I described myself as someone who was young and vibrant, with a sweet voice.'

'I read a lot of adverts on my camera roll, some for CBeebies, some for children's toys – even one for chlamydia.'

In November 2018, at the age of 20, Emily landed her first role: voicing inserts for Nick. jr.

Since then, she has been the voice of Samsung, Spotify and Mercedes, as well as hundreds of other brands and campaigns.

But despite her passion for voice acting, she doesn't want to talk about it publicly – after too many people asked her to 'do a voice'. '

She says it's like living a double life – and she's thrilled to have 'Britain's most iconic voice' – without being recognized on the street. '

“Every time people told me I had a nice voice, I thought, Oh, this is what I do for a living,” she said. '

'Then they would ask me to 'give them a voice', or tell me that they think they could be voice artists themselves. '

“I think it's one of those careers that I don't think just anyone can do. '

“You can't just talk into the microphone and get paid, you have to understand how things are supposed to sound, and you have to be hyper-aware of how you sound. '

'It's also quite lonely work, you're usually alone in a recording booth. There's not really a social element to it.'

Despite this, Emily would like to work in voice acting for the rest of her life and change her niches as she gets older.

She said: “I'm quite versatile, I think. '

“As you get older, things will change and your casting will change. I'll probably end up doing M&S ads instead of Superdrug or Nickelodeon, but I definitely plan to do this for the rest of my life.'