Politics
The Syndicate star Neil Morrissey slams ‘Oxbridge snobs who run TV’ and calls for more working-class actors
FROM Men Behaving Badly to Line of Duty and The Night Manager, Neil Morrissey has starred in some of TV’s biggest shows.
Now, as he prepares to star in BBC1 drama The Syndicate, the actor has revealed the prejudice faced in the industry by working-class stars like himself.
Neil Morrissey has slammed ‘Oxbridge snobs who run TV’ and said we need more working class actors[/caption]
Neil, who was raised in a care home in Stoke-on-Trent, told the Radio Times how society’s elite still pander to the stereotype of upper-class Brits when it comes to ensuring their TV shows are a hit.
He said: “When Oxbridge people are pumping a lot of money into a production, they want their own.
“We (working-class actors) are always underrepresented, because it’s hard to sell a bunch of Northerners to an American network when they consider Brits to be slightly fey James Bond-ish types, not people who work in a factory.”
Neil rose to fame on Men Behaving Badly in the 1990s (pictured with co-star Leslie Ash)[/caption]
He added: “I’ve met people with a massive education and almost zero intelligence; people who’ve been through Oxbridge but don’t know how to sew a hem or boil an egg.”
In The Syndicate, Neil joins a star-studded cast including Coronation Street star Kym Marsh and Strictly finalist Joe Sugg Making his acting debut.
He will play a lovable rogue in the show, a corner-shop owner called Frank.
No-nonsense Neil will always be frank, I suspect.
Clues
SHERLOCK’S Martin Freeman has offered clues about whether there will be a spin-off movie.
The actor, who played Dr Watson in the British crime show, has insisted that the series finale “wasn’t a full-stop”.
Martin said that a blockbuster is “possible” and “more likely”.
Motsi’s on red alert
STRICTLY judge Motsi Mabuse scrubs up well, even while dressed as a shower puff.
The quickstepper wowed fans on Instagram with this glamorous number from upmarket label LouLou.
Motsi, who also donned thigh-high boots, captioned the snap: “Don’t you dare !!!! Oh yes I did!”
Her little sister and two-time Strictly champ OTI was clearly a fan of her look, commenting: “Ohhhhhh hell yesssssssssssss.”
Support like that has got be worth a few cheeky tens in the next series.
Lily wilts as Shore too hot
YOU have to be hardcore to get along in the Geordie Shore – and it turns out Amelia Lily just couldn’t hack it.
Shore bosses have not asked The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother star to return when filming for a new series starts in Newcastle later this summer.
Amelia Lily will not be returning for the new series of Geordie Shore[/caption]
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A telly insider said: “She just didn’t fit in. It wasn’t the right show for her.
They like loud, brash characters and thought they would try something new with her but it just didn’t work.”
The show’s stand-out stars Nathan Henry and Chloe Ferry are both believed to be returning
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