The Traitors’ Charlotte is insulting Welsh people like me with her impression-Lowri Llewelyn-Entertainment – Metro

The revelation left a bad taste in my mouth (Picture: Euan Cherry/BBC/Studio Lambert)

Not to be dramatic, but coming of age with a Welsh accent alongside Little Britain still haunts me. 

At university, chucked into a cawl (stew) with students from across the UK, I was acutely aware of my background as they imitated Matt Lucas’ character Daffyd Thomas, also known as ‘the only gay in the village’. 

The messaging was clear: Welsh people were not to be taken seriously. 

How far we’ve come, I thought while watching the new series of BBC’s The Traitors. Not just one token Welsh person, three actually Welsh people (Charlotte, Elen and Leanne)! 

However, we soon learn that Charlotte ‒ who claims to be from Abergavenny in Monmouthshire ‒ was actually born and raised in London. 

She’s impersonating a Welsh accent in order to seem more ‘trustworthy’, she claims. 

The revelation left a bad taste in my mouth. 

We’ve been disrespected for centuries (Picture: Lowri Llewelyn)

Here we are, 22 years after Little Britain first aired, and the British media is still using the Welsh accent as a prop; if not the butt of the joke.  

But putting on a Welsh accent and adopting our culture is far from lighthearted fun – we’ve been disrespected for centuries.  

In 1847, a British government report ‒ today referred to as the Treachery of the Blue Books ‒ concluded that speaking Welsh was the cause of stupidity, unruly behaviour and even sexual promiscuity among women. 

In the 19th and 20th centuries, school pupils caught speaking Welsh were forced to wear a heavy wooden plaque around their necks reading W.N., or ‘Welsh Not’. The child wearing the plaque at the end of the period might be subject to punishment, including beatings. 

Which brings us to today, where Welsh in Wales is a minority language spoken by just 17.8% of the population. 

So it was galling, come the end of episode three of The Traitors, to find producers had placed a Welsh language learners’ book as a prop in Charlotte’s hands, a wink-nudge to the audience about the contestant’s deceit. 

British media is considered some of the finest in the world, so why does it continue to grab for the low hanging fruit? 

Charlotte’s mum is Welsh, and I don’t think she’s being intentionally disrespectful, but given the history of the Welsh language in the UK – and the way it is still treated – adopting our accent isn’t a game.  

In 2023, the Brecon Beacons National Park announced it would only use its native Welsh name of Bannau Brycheiniog going forward. Susanna Reid, of ITV’s Good Morning Britain, wondered if the news was ‘a joke’ before doubling down and insisting ‘it’s just a name’. 

What’s behind Charlotte’s bizarre The Traitors strategy?  (Picture: Lowri Llewelyn)

Also in 2023, Welsh presenter and DJ Katie Owen took to Twitter to express being ‘shocked and speechless’ when she overheard two women call her accent ‘jarring’, saying they couldn’t do interviews with her because of it. 

Prior to that, travel writer Simon Calder bemoaned whether it was necessary to make Covid travel announcements in Welsh on a flight to Cardiff, saying ‘too much information’ could ‘jeopardise aviation safety’.  

We also see it in politics. Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards complained of Tory MPs ‘mocking’ his accent in the Houses of Commons in 2018, while Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood was advised by email to ‘moderate’ her Rhondda accent. 

So what’s behind Charlotte’s bizarre The Traitors strategy? 

Research undertaken by sociolinguistic professor Dr Mercedes Durham of Cardiff University in 2024 found that the Welsh accent was considered friendly though not necessarily associated with intelligence.

Set against a media backdrop that often portrays the Welsh as friendly, naïve and dimwitted — from Spike in Notting Hill to Uncle Bryn of Gavin & Stacey — might this be behind her disguise to trick fellow contestants? 

There would be hell to pay if the British media used Hindi, Polish or Hebrew as costumes to be appropriated and discarded at will. 

Though Wales has been recognised as a country since 2011 — not a principality — there remains the idea that we’re ultimately owned by Westminster and are therefore fair game. 

There have certainly been times I’ve felt demeaned when someone’s interrupted me with an exaggerated Welsh accent once they learned my background. 

I would like everyone who hears a Welsh accent and makes assumptions to come visit us (Picture: Lowri Llewelyn)

But unlike Charlotte I can’t discard my heritage, and I wish we would stop being reduced to a punchline. 

I would like everyone who hears a Welsh accent and makes assumptions to come visit us. I want them to show respect by using the native names of our national parks. 

Watch award-winning productions like Hinterland and Keeping Faith. And applaud those who get it right, like the unlikely owners of Wrexham FC, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who go above and beyond to showcase our unique culture. 

With Welsh contestant Elen already banished and Flintshire native Leanne left to represent us, I’m curious how she’ll react once it’s revealed Charlotte is actually English. 

I’d personally feel hurt that someone took advantage of my typically trusting Welsh nature. I also wonder how the rest of the contestants will react. 

Have we yet reached a point where they’ll call her out rather than join in the laugh at my country’s expense? 

I certainly hope so.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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