Hove man is the voice behind 'Mind The Gap' (From The Argus)
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Hove man is the voice behind 'Mind The Gap'
12:10pm Monday 27th December 2010 in News By Anna Roberts
VOICE-OVER: Ian Collington is the man behind the "Mind The Gap" announcements on the London Underground
If you type the words “Mind The Gap” into the internet search engine Google, nearly five million results are listed.
The London Underground safety warning is as well known and British as red telephone boxes and fish and chips.
But did you know that the man behind the voice is from Sussex?
Ian Collington, 66, of Shirley Drive, Hove, was affiliated with a company in Uckfield about 20 years ago.
This company was hired to produce safety videos for the London Underground and they asked Mr Collington if he could do the voice-overs.
The father-of-three and grandfather of six was happy to help out and sat in a small studio where he made announcements such as: “The next train is stopping at…” and “This train terminates at…”
He also announced all the station names from Marble Arch to Mansion House.
But by far the highlight was saying: “Mind The Gap.”
His voice can still be heard across the capital.
Mr Collington, who is president of Hove Rotary Club, said: “Whenever I tell people they always get excited.
“It’s a shame I don’t get royalties from the Mind The Gap announcement. If I did I would be living in the Bahamas.”
Comments(8)
Helen G
says...
6:22pm Mon 27 Dec 10
Christophe Hawtree
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8:43pm Mon 27 Dec 10
IRMMM
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2:27pm Tue 28 Dec 10
Poccypoc
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1:08pm Wed 29 Dec 10
Borrom
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10:01pm Wed 29 Dec 10
Juliet Bravo
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1:22am Thu 30 Dec 10
I can barely contain my excitement at the prospect of meeting the lady behind "Unexpected item in bagging area", not to mention the face of "Please go to cashier number three".
BriCo
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11:15am Thu 30 Dec 10
tweety72 says...
2:16pm Mon 27 Dec 10