'Brian who?' you ask. Despite being 'the most listened-to voice in Britain', Brian Cobby may not be a name that you recognise but for the last 21 years he has provided the voice of BT's speaking clock sevice.  Now, at the tender age of 77 Brian is to be replaced.

Very few of the estimated 70 million callers each year who listen to the speking clock will know of Brian's background as a trained actor, he provided the voice-over for the children's puppet series "Thunderbirds",  or that in the late fifties he starred in a famous film about nudists.

The 'The Nudist Story' was one of a number of movies made about that time which cleverly exploited a loophole in the then-strict censorship rules to bring naked people to the screen under the guise of documenting the naturist movement. The best-known of this genre was, of course, Craven Walker's groundbreaking production " Travelling Light"

The plot of these films was typically thin, and 'The Nudist Story' is no exception:

"A somewhat prudish young lady inherits a nudist camp. She wants to shut it down, but is persuaded by its members to give the place a look before she takes any action. She agrees, and while touring the camp finds herself attracted to one of the patrons. The trouble is, so does another young woman at the camp. Complications ensue"

(From the Internet Movie Database)

The 'patron' in question was, of course Brian Cobby.

To placate the censors, the film's bona fides were vouched for by an endorsement from the The British Sun Bathing Society and advertising posters proclaimed that the film was "produced in co-operation with the Sunlanders Youth Group"

A brief synopsis of the nudist film fad can be found here.

For those more interested in the technicalities of the speaking clock - you'd be amazed! - can look here.

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