Child star who sang 'washing machines live longer with Calgon' has new job
Seb Sargent's voice is probably more familiar to you than his face. At just 21, the Salford-based broadcaster and voice artist has lent his vocal cords to everything from rapper Central Cee's stage shows to shop announcements and official railway messages.
But it all began with a famous jingle - delivered during nap time at daycare when Seb, aged two-and-a-half, sat bolt upright and sang: "Washing machines live longer with Calgon!"
Now, with over 57,000 TikTok followers, Seb blends behind-the-scenes voiceover work with viral impressions of famous UK transport voices. "People call me the 'voice of the UK' or the 'voice of the trains,'" he laughs. "It's surreal."
Diagnosed with ADHD as a child, Seb credits his neurodivergence with fuelling his fast-paced life, which juggles voice gigs, songwriting, a Master's degree, journalism training, and restaurant shifts.
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His early fascination with TV adverts and slogans turned into a career at just 13, when he recorded his first professional voiceover - a voicemail greeting for a wedding car hire company.
Seb's big break came at 18, when he recorded voiceovers for Central Cee's London Underground-themed sets at Parklife and Wireless festivals. "I was a uni fresher listening to his tracks at student nights," Seb recalls. "Next thing, my voice was echoing through stadium speakers."
Since then, his portfolio has expanded to include official work for the Department for Transport, including safety announcements for the rail network, and in-store messages for retailers like B&M.
But it was during the 2020 lockdown, out of boredom, that Seb found an online audience. A TikTok video mixing his real railway announcements with uncanny impressions of other voice artists quickly went viral.
"I made a spoof suggesting I was the single voice behind every train announcement. I'm not, of course - but people loved the idea," he says.
"I still don't confirm which bits are real and which are impressions. That's part of the fun."
One of his most popular videos shows Seb being recognised by a train manager on an Avanti West Coast service. Invited to take the mic, he delivered a live announcement at Manchester Piccadilly - first mimicking a fellow voice artist, then switching to his own voice.
"People were staring," he says. "They knew the voice but couldn't quite believe it was coming from me."
Despite his growing fame, Seb remains grounded. He recently graduated from Cardiff University with a journalism degree and is now pursuing a Master's in Salford while working shifts for the BBC.
"There's a running joke at work that I never shut up," he jokes.
Seb hopes to one day voice the Metrolink Bee Network in his home city. "That would be the dream," he says. "I'm already trying to convince them."
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