Joss Ackland.

Not her singing voice, you understand, just her speaking voice.

She has a very deliberate way of speaking English, with a slightly posh accent but lashings of French twang. I also like her French speaking voice, but her, speaking English, is heavenly.

I wouldn't want to be uncharitable about anyone's appearance (I'm no Adonis, myself), but... well... let's just say it doesn't quite live up to expectations after that voice

I could listen all day to Iggy Pop - I love his voice, both speaking and singing.
Others include Burt Lancaster, Clive James, Michael Hordern and I am partial to a bit of French people speaking English too - Audrey Tautou and Juliette Binoche spring to mind.
I also love Bjork's strange Icelandic Cockney hybrid.

Barbara Flynn and John Shrapnel.

the actor, has a wonderfully rich and expressive (and a bit plummy!) voice I'd love to have.

also very easy on the eye - Lorelei King

hem, hem

But to name three:

Peter Jones (especially on H2G2)
Tom Baker (his self-narrated autobiography is terrific)
Clement Freud

I can listen to this lady all day - currently beguiling on Sky Arts Book Show.

Vivian Stanshall.

Particularly when he is reading P G Wodehouse.

Kathy Bates - I heard her being interviewed on the radio a few years ago and her voice was so warm and comforting I nearly crashed the car.

Ted Hughes - I have an audiobook of him reading poetry and his voice is so distinctive, like a piece of rock that has been sculpted but has never had the finishing touches to take off the chisel marks.

Charlotte Green - her most infamous moment:

that Attenborough chappie, does a lot of nature programmes

when she's doing documentaries.

I love Demi Moore's husky tones.

That weatherman Jay Wynn I could listen to all day.

Stuart Maconie is surprisingly ungrating.

Oliver Postgate
Tom Baker
Jacob Bronowski
Ted Lowe
Alexis Korner
Alfred Hitchcock
Benny the Ball

His current exposure with Doctor Who reminded me how much he used to beguile me as child when he read out stories on Jackanory.

I loved it when he was the reader. His vocal range and expression was so vivid. There was a set of stories featuring a little girl called Arabella who had a pet raven called Mortimer.

I still remember them now. A marvellous reader of stories.

And of course he did all the voices on The Wombles where the same thing applied.

Derek Cooper, who used to present The Food Programme.
The late Frank Muir.
I used to love Anne Nightingale's dusky tones through the 70's and into the 80's but the Mockernee Sparrer tone she has adopted is a complete turn off.

...but not forgotten:
Richard Burton
Alec Guinness
Ooh just remembered - Valentine Dyall

On the husky, female (and gladly still with us) front Kathleen Turner's voice is apt to cause discomfort in the trouser region.

can be explained with one word.....gaspers

...he could put a speech over pretty well. Oliver Postgate will transport me back to my inner child, as does Michael Horden.

When Mozzer was on 'Desert Island Discs'... definite frisson.

Every time. Could listen to him reading the tube map.

with Alan Rickman and Richard Burton.

Would also propose John Hurt.

Richard Briers
Peter Sallis
Rik Mayall
Ringo Starr

and of course John Peel.

Surprised no one has chosen Alan Carr.

His singing is wonderful, but the monologues really showcase his fruity voice.

Olivier's commentary on WAW, grim though the subject matter, is a masterpiece of world weary resignation:
Derek Jacobi reading MR James:
Richard Burton reading the VC list at the end of 'Zulu':
John Betjeman reading his own poems:
Robert Frost, as above:
Dylan Thomas (an acquired taste to be sure) as above:
Fenella Fielding in 'Carry on Screaming'
Jenny Agutter on 'Wild Horses' by Prefab Sprout, or anything else:
Oliver Postgate, 'The Clangers' intro
Michael Hordern 'Paddington':
The entire soundtrack of 'The Third Man' with Orson, Joseph C and Valli, a regular played before sleeping:
Rutger Hauer's speech at the end of 'Bladerunner'
That'll do me

collecting his "TV Award" tonight spoke so beautifully and off the cuff it reminded me of the genius behind the national treasure and in the most wonderfully British tones.
Billy Connolly when he's not shouting, just describing a geyser in New Zealand or a painted wall in Northern Ireland.

The answer is Amanda Donohoe. Posh, sexy, agreeably deep. Agree about Mariella Frostrup's silky purr and Kirsty Young's honeyed burr (with extra points for her frankly filthy laugh).

You'd have to travel long and far to find a more melodious speaking voice than Richard Burton. John Hurt is right up there too.

And a couple of newsreaders: Alice Arnold and Alex Derbyshire. Mmm, nice.

has an utterly gorgeous voice.

There's an episode of Black Books, "The Big Lock Out", which ably demonstrates just how gorgeous; the one where he reads the shipping forecast. unfortunately having trouble sourcing a youtube clip :-(

and, hey fact fans, his son was Janis Joplin's road manager.

the Master of Horror..Vincent Price. And along with the aforementioned Burton and Olivier, i,d have to add James Mason, one of our finest actors..

The cracked roasted-chestnut burr of John Arlott, especially describing Asif Masood as "running in like Groucho Marx chasing a pretty waitress."

John Peel

Here he is doing Willo-the-Wisp but the full array was always on show in Round the Horne

If I could swap my voice for anyone elses it would be JEJ in Darth Vader mode. "The force is strong with this one"

Oliver Postlethwaite. Most 'famous' work is probably the voiceover for the classic 1972 Bovril advert, and the voice of the experimental talking cash machine of the late 60s.

And I recall a telly presenter from the 90's named Laurie Pike. I used to love her voice, very sexy and saucy American accent she had.

Alan Bennett is a fine speaker with distinctive tones as well. Surprised he hasn't came up.

Good call above for giggling Charlotte Green. Have any of the massive read the book "And Now On Radio 4" by Simon Elms? She tells a story there about a letter she was sent from a listener asking her to read the Shipping Forecast quicker so that "we can both finish at the same time."

I will also have to shout out for Seamus Heaney. I heard him lecture once and he read quite a few poems. A brilliant reader with a great voice.

Otherwise I'll go with the above votes for Peelie, Viv Stanshall and Willie Rushton. That shows my age

Fi Glover quickens my pulse !

Bill Mitchell. For film trailers, cologne adverts, and parodies of Telly Savalas hits, he was your fella every time.

A man that don't have to try too hard...

For me, Peter Allen on 5LiveDrive is THE voice of radio and has the charm and wit to both inform and entertain with seemingly no effort whatsoever. Having said that, whilst writing that, Lou Reed's monologue in Stephen Emmer's "Passengers" has come to mind. If it was a Peter Allen vs Lou Reed voice-off, I'd be in all sorts of trouble...

but Patrick Stewart could read me the phone book and I'd be a quivering lump of something lumpy and quivery by the time he got to An.

And Michael Dorn (Worf) - when I discovered that he also did some of the voices in World of Warcraft, I spent untold hours repeatedly clicking on certain male human and Tauren, just to hear his honeyed tones... *sigh*

So much so that I married a Scot.
But I digress, some of my favourites include Midge Ure, John Hannah and Billy Conolly before he went transatlantic.
I also love a Scouser, favourites here being Roger McGough and Brian Patten. Brian Patten has such a strange intonation, a bit whiney, but its fascinating to listen to.
Females - can't think at the moment - or maybe Joanna Lumley.

I like both Mark Nicholas and David Lloyd, perfect English accents both. And Andrew Strauss has a lovely tone, unlike his predecessors Peterson, Vaughan, Flintoff, Stewart, Hussain and, especially, Atherton.

Mariella Frostrupp is still up there for me.. *sigh*

were almost as warm as buttery toast.

Still, seems like Chris is settling in Ok, which is fine by me.

...........only kidding

... eg the aforementioned Mariella Fostrup, Dame Judy Dench, Sarah Beeney.

In fact we've been here before:

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/velvet-voices

Oh ... and Joanna Lumley.

Buy one get one free..

From St Etienne on the song Hobart Paving. That's the voice that could soothe a pack and angry bears into a warm and comfortable slumber.

And there's something about Nigella Lawson's voice that makes me wish I'd tried harder at my A-levels so I could have gone to Oxford.

Been away, I may have missed it, but no-one appears to have mentioned the formidable talents of Mr Geoffrey Palmer

Anna Ford.Mmmm, Anna Ford

The Honda voiceovers maybe a little twee but reading his own work he is mesmerising. Weirdly he seems to pause at commas and carry straight on through full stops.

the motormouthed Dave Fanning and his more measured compatriot Something Happens! frontman and DJ Tom Dunne.

?

and seconding of Bjork and Mariella Frostrup.

Dave Fanning?? Nooooo!!!!!

Just remembered Jeff Tracy from Thunderbirds. One of the greats.