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TV bosses are “excluding working class people” by censoring diverse dialects on shows, Cambridge University academic Laura Wright has alleged.
Dr Wright said the “varied, historic dialects” had been “effectively censored” on TV.
Her comments follow complaints by actors including Maxine Peake and Julie Walters that there are few opportunities for working-class actors.
Ms Wright told the Radio Times: “Sitcoms, sport and reality TV allow regional accents to a degree, but dialect grammar, the nuts and bolts of everyday language, is rarely heard…
“The few times you do hear them, it’s for light entertainment, usually poking fun.
“The only exception is when a disaster occurs and news reporters seek bystanders to react. Then we do get to hear how the people of Britain really speak countrywide.”
Ex-Coronation Street actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, former Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston, The Walking Dead’s David Morrissey and Call The Midwife’s Stephen McGann have also criticised class inequality in the profession and the dearth of young actors coming from poorer backgrounds.
