The sonorous, booming tones of British actor Brian Blessed will soon be guiding you to the shops and beyond after a Facebook campaign has led to him becoming the new voice of TomTom.
Famous for his role as the King in ‘Blackadder’ as well as his regular treading of the boards in Shakespearean roles, Blessed, 73, has inadvertently become the latest celebrity to provide a voice for sat nav device TomTom after a Facebook campaign by a fan of his brought him to the firm’s attention.
As reported in the Telegraph Blessed has already recorded 57 basic phrases for TomTom devices as well as six catchphrases particular to him, one of them being “Drive, Hawkmen, Drive”, taken from the famous “Dive, my Hawkmen, dive” line of his in Flash Gordon.
Blessed fan Richard Gardner set up the Facebook group ‘Campaign to get Brian Blessed to do a voiceover for my sat nav’, leading TomTom to agree to talking to the actor if the group landed over 25,000 members.
The actor is said to be donating his royalties from the TomTom voice recording to an animal charity.
Other famous voices on TomTom’s sat nav devices include Billy Connolly, Eddie Izzard, Homer Simpson and Darth Vader.
Pictured: Actor Brian Blessed. Image courtesy of Getty Images via the Telegraph
