The Speaking Clock celebrates its 80th birthday

The BT Speaking Clock celebrates its 80th birthday on July 24, 2016. The fourth and current voice of the clock is Sara Mendes da Costa from Brighton & Hove. She won the job in a BT competition in 2006, which aimed to find a new voice from the public.

She said: “The thing is with the speaking clock, is that it is accurate to five thousandths a second. When you really need to know the time then you can’t beat it.”

The clock was created for people who wanted to know the time and did not have a watch or clock to hand.

“It’s important to keep it in the public eye and maybe use new voices to celebrate this wonderful quirky national institution. However, if they want me too, I’ll happily be the voice forever!”

This clip is originally from 5 live Drive on Friday 22 July 2016.