A man from South East Cornwall is in the running to be the next voice of the BT Speaking Clock after beating off competition from more than 18,000 people. James McQueen, a gift and jewellery shopkeeper from Sevenstones, near Callington, has made it to the final 15 of the contest which has been raising money for the BBC Children in Need appeal after Sir Terry Wogan urged people to put themselves in the running. The winner will be chosen by Brian Cobby, the retiring voice of the speaking clock whose voice has been used since 1986. He beat 5,000 hopefuls when he auditioned in 1985. Other judges are Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT, Nicola Loftus, general manager of Accurist, BBC presenters Natasha Kaplinsky and Alan Dedicoat – the voice of the National Lottery balls – as well as independent judge, Louise Crowley, who is a senior voice coach. James, 40, said: 'Being shortlisted for the Speaking Clock is great fun and a good laugh. 'I'm really chuffed. It would be cool to win but out of 15 selected the percentage chance is slim. 'Sir Terry got 18,400 folk to call and this can only mean much more cash for BBC Children in Need. I hope some of this money can be used to support children in Cornwall. 'My eight-year-old daughter thinks it is funny as she constantly reminds me that I have a Scottish accent and I mispronounce certain words.' Established in 1936, the Speaking Clock has only ever had three permanent voices, so the lucky winner – appointed to celebrate the clock's 70th birthday – will take his or her place in British history. Beth Courtier, BT's head of charity programmes, said: 'First of all, we'd like to thank all the thousands of people who entered this competition to become the new voice of the BT Speaking Clock. You've helped raise crucial funds for BBC Children in Need. 'It's going to be terribly difficult to choose the new voice because the BT Speaking Clock is a national treasure. 'We're looking forward to announcing the winner on Children in Need's big night.' The speaking clock receives more than 70million calls a year.