Peter was born in Belfast. His name and face may not be as familiar as his voice, which has featured in some of the biggest UK TV entertainment shows.
…Singleton, Valerie
Valerie trained as a dancer at the Arts Education School. She studied for two years at RADA (winning a one-term scholarship) and spent a year at Bromley Repertory as an assistant stage manager, playing small parts.
…Allan, David
Born Gordon Allan in Manchester, David is a broadcaster with over 50 years’ experience and, for people of a certain generation, is a very recognisable voice. Certainly one of the great broadcast voices of all time.
…Smith, Oliver
Oliver has been a continuity announcer on Turner Classic Movies, BBC America, Sci-Fi Channel and The History Channel. He has also voiced trails for television including BBC, ITV, Sky, UKTV Gold and Zone Thriller.
Miles, David
David was born in 1954. He joined the BBC in 1975, working initially as a studio manager in Bush House.
…Vickery, David
David is an experienced television announcer and voiceover artist. He was one of the initial presenters of Late Night Late on TVS. He has worked as an announcer on many TV channels, including Meridian, LWT, Carlton (London), BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, Discovery Channel and Biography Channel.
…Cooper, Mike
Mike spent the first four years of his career at BBC Radios WM and Shropshire. He was also a freelance continuity announcer for Central (1993 – 1996). In January 1994, he moved south to work for SSVC (now BFBS) as a self-op announcer and transmission controller.
Mike says: “Having moved south I contacted Carlton and freelanced as an announcer for them from March 1994 until March 1997, then jumped across to the other side of the glass to become a transmission controller for ITV 1 working for LNN. I’d actually started as a transmission controller on a freelance basis in December 1996, then became a staff member in May 1997. To round things up, I stayed with LNN until October 2002. In that time I tried unsuccessfully to move into the newsroom as a director, and my frustration eventually led to finding an opening as a freelance director at ITN alongside my full-time job! I eventually left LNN a week before the rebrand to ITV 1 took place and Carlton/LWT disappeared forever.”
Later, Mike worked at the BBC as a news director. He then went on to spend almost three years doing the same at Sky News. In 2008, he moved back behind the microphone to work full-time as a voiceover artist. In addition to voicing TV programmes, he has returned to continuity: for a time at Film24, and on an ongoing basis for History.
Smith, Derek
Derek’s broadcasting career began in 1999 at The Travel Channel where he was a continuity announcer. He was a member of the original team of announcers (and ‘the Scottish voice’) at the Biography Channel when it launched in the UK in 2000. Also in 2000, Derek took on a newsreading role at Radio Forth in Edinburgh; he remained there until joining Living TV as a continuity announcer in 2003.
Derek headed back north and joined the SMG continuity team in 2005, providing announcements on Scottish and Grampian TV (later rebranded as STV). He performed the first live announcement from STV’s new studios at Pacific Quay on Saturday 22nd July 2006.
Derek still finds time to fit in his other gig – travelling the world as a BA cabin crew member – which he has been doing since 1985.