Americans love `Downtown Abbey`s Lady Mary-like posh Brit accent

London: The aristocratic voice of 'Downtown Abbey's Lady Mary is the most-wanted British accent in the US.

According to a research, the demand for British voice-overs had doubled in the past year, with voices being used in voice-overs, online self help guides and even "speaking" birthday-cards, the Mirror reported.

While American advertising campaigns ranked Hugh Grant and Benedict Cumberbatch's crisp upper-class tones highly, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey's angry rants were also deemed popular, as was Helen Mirren's.

PeoplePerHour (PPH), a freelance agency, which conducted the survey, found that Americans desired a voice that like the character from the hit British sitcom, but not necessarily the real voice of actress Michelle Dockery herself.

Others who made the top 20 list include Daniel Criag at number 2, Irish actor Clin Farrell at 4, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini at number 7, Scot James McAvoy at 5 and even David Beckham at 17.