The name Emma Clarke may not mean a lot to you. In fact you may never have heard of her at all. But Emma Clarke is the woman commonly referred to as the ‘Voice of the London Underground’.
Underground bosses have decided to silence her for allegedly criticising the Underground, something which she denies. Unfortunately for her and indeed Londoners who listen fondly to her friendly voice as they go about their daily business, London Underground are having none of it and have decide to let her go.
Clarke, who is 36 and has two children, has worked for London Underground since 1999. Her voice has told Londoners to ‘mind the gap’ and that ’smoking is not permitted anywhere on the London Underground’.
Emma Clarke claims that she was misquoted in an interview, having said that using the Underground would be a dreadful experience for her. What she actually meant was that she would hate to hear her own voice throughout the entire journey.
We would like to remind our American tourist friends that they are almost certainly talking too loudly.
On her Web site, Clarke has created some spoof announcements (click here to listen). London Underground, however, deny this played a part in her dismissal.
The Underground is not Clarke’s only client, however, and you are likely to have heard her voice on television, radio and various advertising campaigns and telephones around the country and indeed the world. You may even have heard her ask you to ‘calmly evacuate the building’ when there’s an emergency.
Maybe we’ll start to hear less of her on the Underground, but have no doubt that we’ll continue to hear her voice on TV and radio for years to come.
