A voiceover artist who has featured in hundreds of TV and radio ads says she leads a double life - as the "most iconic voice" but least recognisable face in the UK. "

Emily Cass, 25, has recorded hundreds of adverts, radio inserts and TV shows and been the voice of brands including Lidl, Co-op and Samsung.

She is also a continuity announcer for Nick Jr and Channel 5’s Milkshake - saying things like "coming up next, Peppa Pig" and "time for Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom" in between programmes."

She rarely tells people what she does for a living - as she often receives requests to "give us a voice" and hears others say they could "easily do that". "

But Emily says feeling like she's living a double life can be fun - and she wants to work as a voiceover artist for the rest of her life.

She says her rates vary - but she follows a standard rate card for voice actors - which includes £250 for a standard TV gig involving adverts or continuity.

Emily, from Lambeth, south west London, said: "Someone once asked me how it feels to have the most iconic voice in the UK - I think that’s nice, but hate when people bring it up. "

"It’s kind of funny, I could be shopping or driving and I’ll hear my own voice on the radio, thinking ‘that’s me!’"

"It’s such a different kind of job - my voice really is everywhere."

Despite never formally training as a voice actor, Emily realised it was what she wanted to do after meeting a voice extra from the animation Flushed Away while at a drama summer camp, in July 2012.

She said: "I’ve always been a chatterbox, I grew up doing theatre and arts, and I went to a drama summer camp in July 2012, when I was 14."

"One of the teachers had been a voice artist for Flushed Away - I thought that was so cool, it became a defining moment of my career."

"I became really enthusiastic about the idea of becoming a voice artist, and from a young age I knew it was what I wanted to do. "

"I remember my science teacher telling me I’d fail my GCSE, and I was like 'OK, I don’t want to do this anyway.'"

At the age of 20, Emily spent £1k on recording equipment - including a top-quality microphone, headphones and recording interface.

She hired a one-time producer for £250, and they helped her put together a voice reel to send to employers.

Having just begun her career, Emily didn’t have anything to include in the reel - but she decided to read out scripts aimed at "kids and teens" - as she thought her voice sounded immature. "

The reel included inserts for CBeebies, kids' toys and student open days - as well as an NHS awareness-raising campaign for chlamydia.

She said: "I came in at 20, and I sounded very young - you’ve got lots of voiceover artists aimed at kids, but hardly any for teens or graduates."

"I found myself targeting the teens - I branded myself as someone young and bubbly, with a sweet voice."

"I read a lot of adverts out on my reel, some for CBeebies, some for kids’ toys - even one for chlamydia."

In November 2018, at the age of 20, Emily got her first role - voicing inserts for Nick. Jr.

Since then she’s been the voice of Samsung, Spotify and Mercedes - as well as hundreds of other brands and campaigns.

But, despite her passion for voice acting, she won’t talk about it in public - after one too many people asked her to "do a voice". "

She says it’s like living a double life - and she’s happy to have "the most iconic voice in the UK" - without being recognised on the street. "

"Whenever people would tell me I had a nice voice, I used to be like - oh, this is what I do for a job," she said. "

"Then they’d ask me to ‘give them a voice’, or tell me they reckon they could be a voice artist themselves. "

"I think it’s one of those careers that actually - I don’t think just anyone can do it. "

"You can’t just speak into the microphone and get paid, you need an understanding of how things are supposed to sound, and you need to be hyper-aware of how you sound. "

"It’s also quite lonely work - you’re mostly just sat in a recording booth by yourself. There’s not much of a social element to it."

Despite this, Emily is keen to work in voice acting for the rest of her life - switching up her niches as she gets older.

She said: "I’m quite versatile, I think. "

"As you get older, things will change and your casting will change - I’ll probably end up doing M&S adverts rather than Superdrug or Nickelodeon, but I fully intend to keep doing this for the rest of my life."