External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
Peter Dickson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Dickson |
| Occupation | Voice-over artist |
| Known for | Britain's Got Talent |
Peter Dickson is a Northern Irish voice-over artist. After spending a period working on hospital radio, he became a newsreader at BBC Northern Ireland and worked for Good Morning Ulster. After tiring of covering The Troubles, he moved to BBC Radio 2 in London, spending ten years there before going freelance. He is best known for announcing The X Factor, though has also announced various other talent shows and game shows and the channel E4.
Born in Knock [1] to a father who had a clerical job at Harland & Wolff and a mother, [2] he attended Belfast Royal Academy, where he sat A-levels in geology, physics, and geography. He moved to Queen's University Belfast in 1975, where he met his future wife; he graduated in 1979, having written his thesis on childhood memory development. [3] He spent a period working as a porter at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast [2] and then time broadcasting on hospital radio. [4]
At some point, he became as a newsreader at BBC Northern Ireland, where he worked on Good Morning Ulster. [5] Several sources claim that he was the youngest newsreader ever and that he got the job aged 17; [6] [7] [3] however, he has stated that he got the job while studying at university. [1] His first job at BBC Northern Ireland was reading fatstock prices to farmers at 6am; [2] a subsequent job there entailed breaking the news of the assassination of Lord Mountbatten. [7]
After tiring of reporting on The Troubles, he moved to BBC Radio 2 in London in 1982, where he worked with Terry Wogan [7] and presented the comedy series Peter Dickson's Nightcap, which ran for four years. [6] He left the BBC in 1992 to go freelance; [2] around this time, he appeared in Harry Enfield & Chums. [8] Dickson began his voiceover career after providing voices for Steve Wright's radio show, for which he would create characters, [9] and was subsequently hired for Bruce Forsyth's version of The Price Is Right. [9] By 2003, he had developed the nickname "Peter Diction" for his careful enunciation. [10]
Dickson began announcing The X Factor in 2004, [11] where his job was to introduce the contestants to the stage and to shout "It's time to face the music". [11] He has stated that he got the job after a sound supervisor on Test the Nation suggested that he audition. [12] His pronunciation of the name of one series six contestant, Rachel Adedeji, became especially popular. [13] [14] Writing in July 2015, The Independent wrote that Dickson's bombastic voiceover was integral to the series' success and that his "over-enunciation of commonplace syllables lent the show a pomp and pageantry which it could never have earned otherwise". [15]
Dickson took over the voiceover for E4 in 2006 following the death of Patrick Allen. [8] Two years later, he narrated Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, a parody of talent shows such as The X Factor. He stated in his 2020 autobiography Voiceover Man that The X Factor's creator Simon Cowell had been initially annoyed by Dickson's involvement in the latter but cooled after seeing how popular the show was with viewers. [16] In 2011, he provided the voiceover for a Staffordshire University student's masters dissertation on the requirements of successful comedians. [17] Three years later, [18] Dickson produced a relaxation tape for use in a Buttery Brown Monk sketch [19] and appeared on the BBC One Northern Ireland panel show Monumental. [20]
By July 2015, his voice had become synonymous with The X Factor and he had announced Britain's Got Talent, Family Fortunes, All Star Mr & Mrs, [11] and Live at the Apollo. [21] He left The X Factor that month [11] but returned for that year's live finals, [8] leaving the previous week's Judges' Houses for Redd Pepper. [22] In 2017, he played a disgruntled phone-in caller on John Cleese Presents...; [23] by April 2018, he had narrated 100 television shows and 30,000 adverts. [2] His voice has been mimicked by impressionists including Britain's Got Talent contestants [24] [25] and Joe Lycett. [26]
Dickson moved next to Chequers in 1991, where he has lived next to several Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. [2] Around the time he moved in, he launched Melody 105.4 FM, on which he presented the breakfast show for four years. [9] As a member of Peter Dickson & The Shakettes, he released the August 2010 single "Shake It", a promotional vehicle for the milkshake bar Shakeaway. [27] Around this time, a different Peter Dickson bought the firm. [28] In 2013, [2] after tiring of people asking him how to enter the voiceover industry, [29] he and his friend Hugh Edwards co-founded Gravy for the Brain, a training academy based in Banbury. [2] [30]
| Year | Series | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Harry Enfield & Chums | Episodes 2 and 5 | Ensemble actor |
| 1995 | The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer | Episodes 1 and 3 | Announcer |
| 1995-2007 | The Price Is Right | Eight series | Announcer |
| 1995 | Quote... Unquote | Series 19 | Reader |
| 1995-2006 | They Think It's All Over | 20 series | Announcer |
| 1996-7 | Tellystack | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 1997 | Last Chance Lottery | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2000-2 | Family Fortunes | Series 20-1 | Announcer |
| 2007-15 | All Star Family Fortunes | All series | Announcer |
| 2001 | It's Not the Answer | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2002 | Catchphrase | Series 17 | Announcer |
| 2002-6 | Test the Nation | 15 episodes | Announcer |
| 2003 | Monkey Dust | Series 1 | Various (voice) |
| 2004-6 | The Department | Series 1-3 | Ensemble actor |
| 2004-14, 15-19 | The X Factor | 16 series | Announcer |
| 2004-9 | The Paul O'Grady Show | Series 1-11 | Announcer |
| 2005 | The Big Call | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2005 | Hit Me, Baby, One More Time | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2005-7 | Gameshow Marathon | Two series | Announcer |
| 2006 | Not Today, Thank You | Series 1 | Ensemble actor |
| 2007 | Hedz | Series 1 | Various (voice) |
| 2007-16, 18-present | Live at the Apollo | Series 3-12, 14-present | Announcer |
| 2007-present | Britain's Got Talent | All series | Announcer |
| 2007 | Soapstar Superstar | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2007 | Soapstar Superchef | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2008-16 | All Star Mr & Mrs | Eight series | Announcer |
| 2008 | Britain's Got the Pop Factor... | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2008 | Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong | Series 2 | Announcer |
| 2008 | Hole in the Wall | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2009 | No Signal! | Series 1 | Various |
| 2009-11 | Chris Moyles' Quiz Night | Five series | Announcer |
| 2009 | Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow | Two series | Announcer |
| 2009 | Harry Hill's TV Burp | Series 9, episodes 9 and 11-14 | Announcer |
| 2009-15 | OOglies | Three series | Announcer |
| 2010-6 | Channel 4's Comedy Gala | Seven series | Announcer |
| 2010 | Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live | Five series | Announcer |
| 2010 | The King Is Dead | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2010 | Comedy Central at the Comedy Store | Series 1 and 3 | Announcer |
| 2010 | Celebrity Juice | Series 4, episode 8 and "The Best Bits" | Self |
| 2010 | The King Is Dead | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2010 | Magic Numbers | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2010 | Mission: 2110 | Series 1 | Announcer |
| 2012 | Alan Carr: Chatty Man | "Alan Carr's Summertime Specstacular" | Announcer |
| 2013 | Births, Deaths, and Marriages | Series 2, episode 2 | Peter |
| 2013 | Funny Old Year | Series 2 | Announcer |
| 2014 | Monumental | Series 2, episode 1 | Self |
| 2015 | Miffy's Adventures Big and Small | Series 1, episodes 1-12, 17-23, 25 | Uncle Pilot |
| 2017 | John Cleese Presents... | Series 1 | Ensemble actor |
| 2017 | Pointless Celebrities | Series 10, episode 31 | Self |
| 2018 | Obsessions | Series 1, episode 4 | Self |
| 2020 | Isolation Song Contest | Series 1 | Announcer |
| Year | Title | Credit | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "What a Bunch of Bankers" | Voiceoverman & The Credit Crunchers | [31] [32] |
| 2010 | "Shake It" | Peter Dickson & The Shakettes | [27] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
