9 February 2009
Home phone customers calling the Speaking Clock between now and March 13th will be greeted by one of several famous voices.
To help raise money for Comic Relief, a number of celebrities have teamed up with BT to record their own Speaking Clock messages, featuring comedy noises in place of the pips.
They include Take That singer Gary Barlow, Radio One DJ Chris Moyles, Girls Aloud star and X Factor judge Cheryl Cole and TV presenter Fearne Cotton.
Each time someone dials 123, ten pence from their call will go to Comic Relief. BT hopes to raise £300,000 through the initiative.
John Petter, Consumer Managing Director at BT Retail, said the telecoms company is "delighted" to be sponsoring Comic Relief with the Speaking Clock.
"This builds on the vital support BT gives to Comic Relief's telethons," he added.
According to BT, the accuracy of the Speaking Clock - which was first introduced in 1936 - is within five thousandths of a second.