I'm an ex-soap star & my voice is now world famous due to viral ads… but I'm terrified of being sacked
STAR VOICE I'm an ex-soap star & my voice is now world famous due to viral ads… but I'm terrified of being sacked
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AN EX-soap star has spoken out after a catchphrase she recorded for a TV advert unexpectedly turned her into a global sensation.
Many people might recognise actress Zoë Lister, 43, from her four-year stint on Hollyoaks until 2010 - but to millions more, she's the current voice behind an iconic airline ad campaign.
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Zoë Lister met up with The Sun this week for an exclusive chat
Credit: Louis Wood
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Her voice over has gone viral on TikTok
Credit: Instagram
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Zoë appeared in Hollyoaks for four years until 2010
Credit: Channel 4
The voice actor started recording voice-overs for Jet2 in 2019, with commercials played between episodes of ITV series Love Island.
But now her famous phrase, "Nothing beats a Jet2 Holiday" - from an advert first broadcast last year - is being clipped and used by hundreds of thousands of fans on TikTok and Instagram.
Zoë has given an insight into a whirlwind few weeks after her lines from the popular commercial went viral on social media.
The catchphrase has been described as the sound of the summer after social media users started dubbing the track over clips showing Brits brawling abroad and turbulent flights.
The craze got to a point where Zoë believed it would spell the end of her Jet2 career.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, the mum-of-two admitted she is still dumbfounded by her sudden fame.
She joked: "It's all a bit silly, isn't it?
"It was just a voiceover. I've done these voice overs for several years for Jet2, and this was just a new campaign.
"And it was the Nothing Beats a Jet2 holiday line. That was the slogan.
"I'd never in a million years think that that this was going to be the thing to go viral."
Watch the moment Jess Glynne finally meets Jet2 voiceover star after TikTok trend goes viral
Zoë continued: "It's annoying me probably the same as everybody else right now.
"My friends and family are just sending me videos all the time, but everyone's just along for the ride."
She said things "got super weird" when she was on a train last week and heard several people listening to the catchphrase on their phones.
"But we're all just really enjoying it because it's just silly, it's stupid joy, and that's what we all need," Zoë said.
"It's time limited, but for now, I'm just enjoying the ride. I'm having a really fun summer."
My friends and family are just sending me videos all the time, but everyone's just along for the ride.
Zoë Lister
The sound even interrupted an important anniversary meal for Zoë and her husband, who overheard another table quoting it.
She added: "I was out for dinner with my husband because we were celebrating our 10-year anniversary.
"But there was clearly some more dominant stuff going on at the time!
"We were sat there and the next door table were doing their own video of Jet2 holidays, doing all the voices.
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Zoë has been doing voice overs for Jet2 since 2019
Credit: Alamy
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Zoë feared the worst when her voice suddenly went viral
Credit: Louis Wood
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She was delighted when Jet2 renewed her contract
Credit: Louis Wood
"And my husband was like, 'do you want to meet the woman that has the voice?'.
"He's leaning into it now. It was really funny. It was a good moment for all of us," said Zoë.
Referring to the catchphrase suddenly going viral, she continued: "Things started to get weird last year. People would send me videos of terrible turbulence with my really happy voiceover over the top.
"It was really funny, but I was really certain that Jet2 were going to rebrand. I didn't know what they were thinking about the viral stuff.
"I'm not joking, two weeks ago, I was crying to my husband about the direction of my life.
"I didn't know where they (Jet2) were going. I was hoping they had a sense of humour," she said.
"And then it's just gone really positive and joyful. And I'm all about the joy.
"I went to Leeds Pride with them at the weekend and performed on stage. It was great."
Jess Glynne
Popstar Jess Glynne, 35, sings the iconic Hold My Hand backing track for the proper advert.
Earlier this week, Zoë was invited onto the Capital breakfast show, hosted by Jordan North, to link up with the singer for the first time.
The pair had previously never met, despite the 2015 hit being the theme song for Jet2 for a decade.
In a video posted to Instagram, Jordan was so excited that he squealed it was "finally happening" ahead of the two women meeting.
"It's happening! It's happening!" he screamed, as Zoë entered the studio and gave Jess a hug.
While in the studio, Zoë gave an impromptu live performance of her famous voice over while Hold My Hand played in the background.
Speaking on the experience, Zoë said: "I feel like the summer has been leading up to this point when Jess Glynne and I are in the same room.
"(Capital) asked if I fancied coming on the breakfast show to talk about it. And I was like, all right.
"Capital made it happen. I felt like I'd won a competition to be on there.
"We met and it was hilarious. She's just a really cool popstar who didn't ask for any of this.
"I suggested that I was kind of in her band now, but I don't think she agreed!
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Zoë met Jess Glynne this week on Capitol
Credit: CapitalOfficial/Instagram
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Glynne's music has been used in the Jet2 ads for years goes
Credit: CapitalOfficial/Instagram
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Glynne performing at the Isle of Wight Festival earlier this summer
Credit: The Mega Agency
"Then on the show, Chris Stark said he was DJing that night and asked if I wanted to do a live performance of the Jet2 voiceover.
"I was like, yes, let's go. I felt like a Spice Girl."
Hitmaker Jess joked it was the "most amazing thing", before she recorded her own version of Zoë's famous voiceover.
When quizzed on the origins of the slogan, she told The Sun: "We usually kind of work it a few times.
"Especially the line, um, that's £200 off for a family of four because it is kind of so ridiculous.
"We're like, how do we say this without being really patronising?
"Because my normal speaking voice is not quite my voiceover.
"I'm not selling people holidays in my day to day interactions!
"I remember the sound engineer told me, 'you've just got to throw it away. Let them in on it like they're your friend'."
Zoë is now looking at launching her own podcast on the back of her TikTok fame.
She added: "I'm very grateful that Jet2 are going to re-sign my contract.
"That was my number one priority. But I do other things, I'm a writer and an actor as well.
"I started to make silly comedy videos on TikTok last year because this is the future now.
"So I'll probably just keep putting videos out and see what emerges from that.
"I haven't really done any acting for ages because I've had children. You just run out of time to be creative.
"You don't have the time or energy to be able to do things in the hope that somebody might buy your script.
"But I've been working on a podcast idea for ages. I think maybe now's the time, especially now that people absolutely know my voice.
"This moment has just been really fun. Whatever happens is just unexpected and joyful. It's great."
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Zoë at the 2009 British Soap Awards
Credit: PA:Press Association
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