Marcus Bentley
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Marcus Bentley (born October 4, 1967) is a British actor and voiceover artist. Born in Gateshead, he was brought up in Stockton on Tees and attended East 15 Acting School in London.
Though he has appeared on stage, winning an Edinburgh Fringe First Award for his show Dead Fish, and in TV bit parts including The Bill and London's Burning, his main fame has come through voiceover work. Having been taken on as a continuity announcer by Channel 4 in the late 1990s, he was subsequently selected as the narrator of the UK version of Big Brother, which remains his best-known work. He has narrated all eight series to date, as well as the spin-offs Celebrity Big Brother and Teen Big Brother: The Experiment. He is one of the UK's most recognisable voiceover artists due to his heavy North-East England "Geordie" accent (which he often exaggerates for effect). He makes only very rare appearances in vision.
Besides his many voiceovers, and ongoing continuity work, Bentley was also the unseen questionmaster on a Sky One quiz show, Dirty Money.
Despite having a low-profile he made an exception on August 13, 2006, to accept his award as Big Brother's Little Brother's employee of the week, the final one of the series. He chose not to appear in person but was interviewed unseen from within the BBLB studio with a voice over Dermot, the host.
He is married, with three children, and is the son of John Bentley. He currently lives in Canterbury.
[edit] Trivia
- His most notable catchphrase is "Who goes? You decide".
- The producers of Big Brother gave him the job of narrator because they liked the way he said "Chickens". [1]
- He used his regular accent at the very start of Big Brother, and it noticeably became more exaggerated each series.
- He is a fan of Middlesbrough football club, and is good friends with the actor Mark Benton.
[edit] References
- McLean, Gareth. "The voice of Big Brother", The Guardian, 2002-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
