Woman crowned best voice in East Yorkshire gets chance to become a Hull Trains announcer for the day

A Hull woman has been given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to become an onboard announcer for the day with Hull Trains, after being crowned the best voice in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire by Hits Radio listeners.

Hits Radio presenters Alex and Nicola with competition winner Sharon

As part of her prize, Sharon Blagdon also won a pair of First Class tickets for a return journey to London and the chance to use the Hull-based operator’s world-class train simulator which is based in the city. The state-of-the-art equipment was recently launched at Hull Trains’ Learning and Development Academy in the iconic K2 building. 

Sharon, who was tasked with reading a variety of onboard announcements on her return journey to Selby, was accompanied by popular Breakfast Show presenters Alex and Nicola.

Lou Mendham, Service Delivery Director at Hull Trains, said: “We were thrilled to take part in this exciting competition with Hits Radio. Our customers and on-board team were particularly impressed with Sharon’s announcing skills, she was a natural!

“We’re proud to be part of the local communities we serve and providing opportunities like this one really showcases that. If seeing Sharon have a go at announcing has inspired you, then we’re always on the lookout for talented people to join us. We have a great team at Hull Trains who all deliver a wide range of services across a variety of roles.”

Winner Sharon loved the experience… She said: “It was amazing to be part of the day with Hull Trains and I was made to feel so welcome by all the team.

“I’ll admit that I was a little nervous, but Alex and Nicola put me at ease for the big announcements on board. Thanks to everyone for such a great experience. I can’t wait to book my First Class tickets to London now… I’ll leave the announcements on that journey to the professionals though!”

Presenters Alex and Nicola, who are heard across the region, said: “Thanks to Hull Trains for an amazing day. The whole on-board team were fantastic and they went above and beyond to keep us comfy… we even got to sample their delicious new First Class menu and some treats from the trolly.

“It wasn’t quite the ‘normal’ Hull Trains experience… We had a go at serving some drinks and our trolley service left a lot to be desired! However, we think our winner Sharon smashed it with the train announcements. Thankfully, normal service has now resumed.”

You can hear Alex and Nicola weekdays 06:00-10:00 on Hits Radio East Yorkshire.