Favourite voices of Radio 4 to say farewell

THEIR dulcet tones have played a part in our morning routine for decades, reaching out across the airwaves to soothe our waking hours. But soon, no more.

Radio 4 favourites Harriet Cass and Charlotte Green – who was once voted “most attractive female voice” in a Radio Times poll – have decided to take 
voluntary redundancy.

Their departures are a result of a shake-up of Radio 4’s presentation team, which is being reduced by two posts to a team of ten.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ms Green, 56, and Ms Cass, 60, who both joined the station in the 1970s and have clocked up 74 years of experience between them, opted to leave.

The departure of the station’s most experienced presenters has dismayed many listeners.

The impressionist Alistair McGowan described them as a “wonderful comfort”.

Scottish comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli tweeted: “Harriet Cass. Charlotte Green. 2 voices of 1 generation”.

Ms Green, who said she had “thoroughly enjoyed” her 34 years at the corporation, is famous for being gripped by fits of giggles on air, including after hearing the oldest-known recording of a human voice during a news item.

It caused her to laugh uncontrollably as she read the next story. She went on to apologise.

Another fit of giggles came after she had just heard the name of the head of Papua New Guinea’s armed forces, Major General Jack Tuat, which includes a “u” pronounced as a “w”.

She said later: “I caught her eye [co-presenter Sue MacGregor] and from that moment knew 
I was lost.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“My voice rose and dropped like Dame Clara Butt on speed, the laughter broke free and the [next news] item about the stranded sperm whale came to a premature end.

“I was transported back to my ten-year-old self, ambushed by mirth because my best friend had farted, unexpectedly and explosively during school prayers.”

The pair both said they were looking forward to moving on to other challenges.

Ms Green said: “I’ll miss the buzz of live radio, but I’m really looking forward to getting involved in new projects.

“Radio 4 listeners have always been very warm and appreciative of what I’ve done, whether doing the shipping forecast, reading the news or taking part in The News Quiz.”

Ms Cass, who joined the BBC in 1972, added: “The BBC was my first job, and I thought it would be interesting for a few months. Forty years later, it’s time to do other things.”

CHARLOTTE GREEN

A fixture at the BBC since 1978, Charlotte Green started out as a studio manager but had initially aspired to be an actress.

She was educated at the prestigious Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls before graduating with a first-class BA in English and American literature from the University of Kent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In 2002 she was voted the “most attractive female voice on national radio” in a poll by the Radio Times magazine.

Between 2003 and 2006, she sparked a flood of complaints by pronouncing the years 2001-09 using the “twenty-oh” method instead of “two-thousand-and”, which led her to revert to the more conventional usage.

HARRIET CASS

Harriet began working for the BBC in 1972, rising to become one of the most senior announcers.

She was born in 1952 in Middlesex and was educated at Queen’s College in London.

Cass joined the BBC in 1972, ostensibly for just “a few months”, working first as a studio manager and also on the Today in Parliament programme.

Related topics: