A COMEDIAN from County Durham who has previously been unable to talk has been given the gift of song this Christmas after he managed to showcase his vocal ability in a North East accent on national TV – thanks to the help of innovative technology.
Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy, was diagnosed with a neurological form of cerebral palsy at just six months old, which has rendered him silent for the rest of his life.
Despite this condition, the comedian has been able to rise to prominence and has featured on his fair share of television shows over the years, which has seen him win Britain’s Got Talent and appear on an episode of BBC Three show ‘Jerk’.
Read more: Newcastle comedian 'Lost voice guy' gets new Geordie voicebox
Originally from Consett, County Durham, Mr Ridley has only ever been able to talk in a Southern accent - generated by a speech machine.
However, he has always longed for a regional accent that “best suited him” and his “Northern roots”.
Before now, this gift has always eluded him, but earlier this evening – Lost Voice Guy managed to find his vocal range during ITV’s Comedy Special at 10.30pm.
He wowed those watching at home by belting out some song lyrics – leaving some emotional and overwhelmed by the moment.
To create the voice, Mr Ridley has had to work with technology company CereProc, who have today announced the creation of a Geordie accented AI-based synthetic voice.
CereProc also worked with voice talent from the same area as Mr Ridley, allowing the team to create a much more representative voice for him that also introduced the addition of local phrases such as ‘Wey Aye, Man’
After showcasing his new voice on the TV broadcast on Christmas Eve, Mr Ridley said: “I’m delighted to have debuted my new Geordie accent on national television at Christmas.
“I’ve wanted to sound more like my family and friends for most of my life, so this seemed like the ideal time to introduce my new voice to everybody.
“It was the best Christmas present ever, and I can’t thank CereProc enough for all the hard work they’ve put into making this a reality for me.”
Now that the technology has been created, both Lost Voice Guy and CereProc hope to ‘pave the way’ for numerous others in the North East who need the help of technology to speak.
The companies voice cloning technology uses Artificial Intelligence to replicate a voice in any regional accent, with the ability to run on any platform or any device.
Paul Welham, CEO of CereProc, said: “A person’s voice is a key part of their identity, it represents where they come from, their age and personality.
"Regional accents are an important part of a person’s personality, and that’s particularly true for people from the North East.
Read more: Lost Voice Guy asks for donations instead of birthday presents
“When I first met Lee at an event at the National Star College, he was using a Southern-accented voice that he felt didn’t reflect how he wanted to sound.
“We are very proud to have worked with Lee to develop a voice for him that represents his North East heritage, and we are excited to be producing more regional accented voices in the future with more of CereProc’s innovative functionality.”
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