Alan Dedicoat (born 1 December 1954) is an English announcer for programmes on BBC One. He is known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes, providing a voiceover for the draws since 1995. He was a BBC Radio 2 newsreader until his retirement from this role in March 2015. Dedicoat is the announcer on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and its American version, Dancing with the Stars. Early life Dedicoat was born on 1 December 1954 in Hollywood, Worcestershire. The son of a newsagent, Dedicoat was educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham, and the University of Birmingham. Dedicoat originally worked in the Civil Service as an Executive Officer, before joining the BBC. Career Radio Dedicoat joined BBC Radio WM at Pebble Mill in 1979 as a presenter, before moving to BBC Radio Devon four years later. After working in the West Country, he moved to London to join the Presentation Department of BBC Radio 2 in 1986 at Broadcasting House, and later became its head, a position he retained until his retirement in 2015. As part of this job, he read the news on BBC Radio 2's weekday breakfast programme, Wake Up to Wogan, until its final edition in December 2009. He also performed this role on Sarah Kennedy's show, until she left the station in August 2010. He then became the newsreader for Vanessa Feltz in January 2011, but following a reshuffle of newsreaders in September 2012, his final shift was reading the news on weekdays between 10am and 5pm. He was also the voice of Radio 2's "emergency CD" (played when there is a fire alarm or other unforeseen break in programming) and their multiple choice automatic phone menu. After 28 years at the station, Dedicoat's final news bulletin on BBC Radio 2 was at 5pm on Friday 27 March 2015, as he retired from Radio 2 broadcasting. It was as part of Wake Up to Wogan that Dedicoat acquired the nickname "Voice of the Balls" from presenter Sir Terry Wogan; he was also called "The Wealdstone WeatherBoy" due to Wealdstone's close proximity to Harrow, where Dedicoat lives. In 2017, he joined Bauer Radio's digital station Mellow Magic, as the breakfast show newsreader for his former Wake Up To Wogan colleague Fran Godfrey. Television In 1994, the National Lottery and its draw programmes were launched on BBC Television.