MOST people hate hearing the sound of their own voice.

But for Jon Briggs – who hears himself on his own sat nav and iPhone – it’s virtually inescapable.

The 47-year-old from Oxford is the voice of the new iPhone, as well as a string of sat navs and radio and TV shows.

Former Dragon School pupil Mr Briggs is the voice of Siri – a voice-activated assistant on the new iPhone 4S, which can respond to questions.

He told the Oxford Mail: “I’m jolly well chuffed to be the voice of something so wonderful and amazing.”

But the first Mr Briggs knew about his role in the iPhone was when he heard a feature about the new technology on the radio.

He said: “I was listening to the news and heard someone using the phone. I thought ‘I recognise that voice’.”

The voice came from work he completed with the company Scansoft seven years ago.

That company merged with Nuance Communications, which worked with Apple to develop the Siri technology – and the rest is history.

Mr Briggs, who was also the voice of TV quiz show The Weakest Link for 13 years, said he had no idea how his voice had been picked for the UK version of the phone, one of which he owns himself.

He added: “Mind you, I don’t always understand myself when talking to myself. If you see what I mean.”

Mr Briggs grew up in Littlemore and North Oxford, attending Magdalen College School.

He started his career on BBC Radio Oxford while still at school, going on to present the breakfast show in 1985 when he was just 20.

This month he returned to the station to present the Saturday morning breakfast show.

He said: “I was hooked from the beginning.

“They were paying me for something I would have done for free.

“Radio has changed a lot since I’ve been away though. When I started, it was all vinyl but now it’s all gone digital.”

His varied career took him from having his own show on Radio 5, to becoming the voice of Radio 2 promotions for 13 years and working as an announcer on Channel 4. He is also the voice of Garmin satellite navigation systems, as well as those for Land Rover, Jaguar, Porsche and Audi.

Mr Briggs said: “I’ve got a Land Rover so I tell myself where to go when I drive.”

But it was as the voice of the iPhone that he gets the most street cred.

He said: “Being Siri is a great currency with 13-year-olds.

“Not so much with The Weakest Link, but being an iPhone is quite impressive when you’re 13.”