CJ’s Experience

CJ Grace has extensive experience in voicing scripts of various kinds, including live reporting, general features, documentaries, exercise videos, meditation courses and programs for people learning English as a second language. One of the documentaries for which CJ wrote the script and narrated has had nearly 70K YouTube views to date.

CJ has presented many news bulletins during her BBC career, often without having had time to read through the copy before going on air. On one memorable occasion, the weather report was missing from the sheets she was given, so she had to make it up. Luckily CJ was broadcasting from a studio with a window, so she simply described the weather outside, adding that it was “likely to become changeable.”

People CJ has poked her microphone at include former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, singer Gene Pitney, who was her sister’s heartthrob, Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, current Prime Minister of Pakistan and former international cricketer, Imran Khan, and someone you are unlikely to have heard of—Michel Lotito. This French entertainer was famous for having eaten several bicycles and a Cessna aircraft.

When CJ was offered a promotion to be the political reporter in charge of a satellite studio for BBC Radio, she turned it down to be a journalist adviser for Radio Beijing—China Radio International’s (CRI) English Language programming in Beijing, training the staff there in broadcasting techniques, as well as hosting a cooking show. This was in the mid-1980s—a pivotal time to be in China, which was transitioning away from Russia and building links with the West. Everyone wanted to learn English, so the shows she worked on at Radio Beijing had a huge audience. When Radio Beijing held public events, large crowds would attend to hear her speak. When CJ returned 25 years later to participate in CRI’s 70th Anniversary Celebrations, the locals had fond memories of her cooking show and told her how it had helped them learn English.

CJ’s Voice-overs

Do you want to add a touch of British class to the sound of your audio or video project? Hire CJ to record the voice-overs or narration you need.

CJ is also proficient at pronouncing foreign names correctly. She has a working knowledge of French, German, Italian and Mandarin Chinese in Pinyin, as well as Welsh and even Klingon. If you have any names or phrases in these languages in your script, CJ  can handle it.

If you would like a male British voice, former Sky TV and BBC Radio journalist, aviation historian and adventurer Brian Milton is available.

Voiceovers, voice-overs or voice overs—it doesn’t matter how you spell it—Rent A Brit has the voice artist for your project!

Three Different British Accents

CJ offers:

• Standard British English, also known as Received Pronunciation.
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  Sample Intro. Duration: 24 sec.

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  Sample Outro. Duration: 17 sec.

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  Sample Audiobook Narration, from a new translation of the Tao Te Ching by Laozi that CJ voiced. Duration: 41 sec.

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• London Cockney.
  Sample reading of the very tragic Cockney poem, “Dahn the Plug ‘Ole.” In the 1980s, CJ performed this on China National TV’s first English language program for a special Chinese New Year episode. It is unlikely that the Chinese audience’s English skills were sufficient to understand much of what she was saying! Duration: 50 sec.

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• Upper Class Aristocratic, also known as a plummy accent.
  Sample reading of another tragic piece of verse in the form of a limerick. Duration: 12 sec.

More Than Just a Voice

As a BBC-trained radio journalist, CJ can offer constructive feedback on the proposed text you want voiced. If desired, she can give you advice on copyediting, word order, emphasis, and inflection, for example. The aim is to maximize the impact of what she will record for you.

Cost

Rates depend on the complexity of the work and the time it takes to complete.  For a limited time,  CJ’s introductory minimum fee is $50. If you would like CJ to voice a basic intro and outro for your podcast show,  this would be covered by the minimum fee. To find out more, contact CJ to discuss the details of your project.