Cobby Strikes Over Pay
by our honest reporter Simon Hunt

Brian Cobby, the nationally recognised voice of the Speaking Clock, is threatening strike action over pay. Cobby, 87, became the voice of the speaking clock in April 1985 after working as an assistant supervisor at Withdean Exchange in Brighton, and has since then been the voice telling millions of callers the time when they dial '123'.

But Cobby has launched a scathing verbal attack on British Telecom, who he believes are "exploiting his gift of voice" by only paying him every time a new recording is used, rather than every time one is repeated.

"It's a contractual loophole," Cobby explained yesterday. "But it means I get absolutely nothing for repeat fees. The first twenty-four hours of this job were fantastic, and for a while I was living the dream. But on the second day it got tough, and I suspect that if my wife and children are still out there somewhere, they'll not be best pleased."

Cobby, who supplements his income with TV appearances and other voice-over work, most significantly on adult-only premium rate telephone chat lines, is also claiming compensation for poor working conditions and lack of variety at his place of work.

"Not many people know that I actually did the job live between 1987 and 1993 just to relieve the monotony," reveals the part-time gardener and keen puzzle enthusiast. "And recently I've taken to using a hands-free headset and microphone to give the time whilst out walking or shopping. But BT soon put a stop to that, claiming it was affecting my delivery and that using the big clock above Sainsburys didn't constitute an acceptable standard of accuracy."

If Cobby doesn't have his concerns addressed, he insists that from 1st April callers to the Speaking Clock will hear only silence.

"And if there's still no compromise, from May it'll be Shania Twain." threatens Cobby. "I don't want to go that far, but if it comes to it, I will."