Hastings girl Jo Brand is voice ofthe Sports Relief speaking clock

Hastings comedienne Jo Brand is the new celebrity voice of the BT Speaking Clock for Sports Relief.
Jo Brand SUS-160316-152814001Jo Brand SUS-160316-152814001
Jo Brand SUS-160316-152814001

Jo, 58, who attended Hastings High School and Bexhill College, features as the voice of the Speaking Clock until midnight on March 20, and BT will donate 10p from each call made to the Clock from a BT landline to Sport Relief.

Jo’s star turn on the BT Speaking Clock comes after she undertook a gruelling week-long, 150 mile, coast-to-coast walk from Hull to Liverpool in January to raise funds and awareness for the work that Sport Relief does around mental health and issues that impact women and girls.

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Jo said: “Recording the voice for the BT Speaking Clock is a similar process mentally to walking 150 miles – it was long, boring and I had to eat a lot of chocolate bars to get through it.

“Luckily for callers I’m a professional at hiding this so you won’t hear any rustling of wrappers and you’ll be helping to support a good cause every time you dial 123.”

Before finding fame in comedy and becoming a well known face on the television, Bafta award winner Jo worked for Barnardo’s as a nursing assistant in a residential unit for adults with learning difficulties and then worked as a psychiatric nurse for ten years.

Back in 2013 she gave a stand-up performance locally to raise funds for the Hastings Pier Charity, commenting at the time: ““I spent some of the best days of my life on the pier and I’m really happy to be able to help rescue it.

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“It was the gathering point for a whole generation looking to see bands and dance the night away. So, I suppose it’s no surprise that I view the pier with enormous affection.”

BT also raised further funds for Sport Relief on Chat for Change Day back in January, where 1p from every call made from a BT fixed line in the UK was donated to Sport Relief.

The money raised through the Speaking Clock, Chat for Change Day, and other fundraising initiatives this Sport Relief will make a massive difference to people living incredibly tough lives, here at home in the UK and across the world’s poorest communities.

BT has been a major partner of Comic Relief since the charity’s launch in 1985, and its Sport Relief initiative since 2002, providing the technology, call centres, network management and volunteers that enable millions of pounds of donations each year.

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Calls to the Speaking Clock cost 38.9p per minute from BT Residential lines. Mobile and other providers’ costs may vary and not all providers use the BT Speaking Clock.

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