11-07-2025
People shocked after realising famous British actress is the voice behind viral Jet2 advert
People are only just realising that the voice behind the viral - and widely spoofed - Jet2Holidays advert belongs to a much-loved British soap actress.
The UK-based organisation's ad, which features popstar Jess Glynne 's 'Hold My Hand', shows a family of four enjoying a fun-filled holiday abroad while the voiceover skips through the offers and discounts available.
The high-energy voice that viewers hear throughout the 30-second 'Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday' ad has become almost as distinctive as Glynne's UK chart-topping track - but until recently people had no idea that it belonged to ex-Hollyoaks actress Zoë Lister.
Zoë, 43, played Zoe Carpenter in the Channel 4 show between 2006 and 2010, making a brief return in April 2017.
A writer as well as a performer, mother-of-two Zoë has also contributed to 56 episodes of the soap, which marked its 30th anniversary this year.
Other past acting jobs include roles in Midsomer Murders, Crime Stories and Staff Room.
According to her management company Harvey Voice's website, she has been the voice of Jet2Holidays for four years.
Yet, it was only relatively recently that the mother-of-two revealed herself as the voice of the ad on TikTok - much to fans' delight.
Viewers have been left bewildered at Zoe's reveal of herself as the voice of the holiday company's adverts
And, in a lighthearted video published yesterday, Zoë joked: 'The struggle is real when you're a secret icon.'
The 20-second clip, in which the former Hollyoaks star is dressed inconspicuously in a casual sweatshirt and black baseball cap, is amusingly captioned: 'When your voiceover's gone global but nobody realises what a big deal you are'.
With 1.2 million views in just over 24 hours, Zoë's TikTok video appears to have struck a chord with those familiar with the ubiquitous Jet2Holidays ad.
It equally sparked a very enthusiastic response, with thousands of people quipping in the comments section.
One person wrote: 'OMG THEE JET 2 HOLIDAY - THAT'S YOU?!'
Another chimed in with the now famous lyrics to the ad, exclaiming: 'NOTHING BEATS A JET2 HOLIDAY'.
A third person shared their advice: 'Get a T-shirt and print the inscription "I'm Zoë Lister and my Jet2 sound is going viral.'
Someone else revealed just how much the ad had affected them, telling Zoë that they could impersonate her 'perfectly'.
The TikToker wrote: 'After one year on TikTok, I can do a perfect you. Or, at least the intonation and accent.
'And I'm a 39-year-old guy from Argentina whose first language is Spanish...'
A fifth user joked: 'It's like being Spiderman, but you can't tell anyone'.
And a sixth amusingly commented: 'You'll forever win at "Two truths and a lie".'
Another person commented: 'It is so funny cause how did this become a meme'.
Although the advert featuring Zoe's voiceover was first released in 2024, the audio clip has gone viral on TikTok in recent months as it's picked up as an ironic trend through which people share their disastrous travel stories.
Zoe's voiceover, layered over Jess Glynne's Hold My Hand, promotes Jet2 holidays to accompany clips of tourists getting caught in torrential downpours or falling off water slides.
As for Zoe herself, the actress's best known role is playing Zoe Carpenter in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks back in the late noughties and early 2010s.
Her character, who was introduced to the audience as a university student, navigated troubling storylines including becoming a victim of voyeurism, before she began dating her best friend Sarah's father, Steve, and unwittingly became stepmother to her own peer.
Later in the series, Sarah died in a parachute accident, leaving Zoe grieving over her friend's death.
