Growing up, I felt lucky to have a mother who recognized what a liability my Yorkshire accent would be, potentially preventing me from enjoying success in any field I chose. Her life’s work was to prepare me to overcome my working-class roots.
She constantly lectured me on how I should speak. Fine was the word she used: “Not like those young ruffians you try to play with in the street.”
He sent me for elocution lessons, or speech and drama as I prefer to call it, from the age of five to 18. I loved him and could completely understand why it was important not to speak the ‘Ee by gum’ type of Yorkshire dialect. That could make me incomprehensible to others.
But when I read this week that young Olivia Cooke, the actress currently starring in the Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon, felt she had to get rid of her northern accent in order to succeed, it got me thinking.
Oldham’s Olivia Cooke, the actress currently starring in Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon, felt she had to ditch her northern accent to make it big.
Did my generation of northerners disappoint those who followed in our footsteps? Should we have stood our ground, shown pride in where we came from and insisted that our accent did not indicate that we were stupid or foolish?
Should I have spoken with my original Yorkshire accent when I applied to join the BBC in the 1970s? If I had, I doubt they would have given me the job that put me on the air.
But, after all these decades, surely things should have changed. Especially given that broadcasters seem so keen to acknowledge that London is not the center of the universe. The BBC often broadcasts from Salford, Channel 4 from Leeds, and yet it is curious how many of the presenters from those regions stick to Received Pronunciation (RP).
Olivia Cooke is from Oldham but has lived in the south for years. She has admitted that she is “really sad” about the fact that she “puts out a voice when I talk to someone with a different upbringing than me.” I’m proud of where I come from, but it was a source of shame because I didn’t feel as smart as everyone else… I have a resentment about being working class.’
Of course, it is absolutely essential that an actress be able to change the way she speaks. In acting, your voice and accent are determined by the role you are playing and should vary from American to Welsh, Scottish and Northern when necessary. But that shouldn’t be the case in a conversation with friends or, more importantly, with people who might be in a position to hire you.
I’ve noticed that some accents seem less acceptable than others. Not just the Yorkshire of my and Olivia’s youth in Oldham, on the other side of the Pennines, but also Birmingham. Several Birmingham friends also complain about learning to “speak fancy” when they felt their professional opportunities were limited by being seen as “a dumb Brummie”.
Irish, on the other hand, has never been seen as anything other than lyrical and poetic. Terry Wogan is a prime example of someone whose accent made it, rather than broke it. Newcastle seems acceptable as long as it’s not too wide. Perhaps the popularity of presenters Ant and Dec contributed to it being seen as the sound of the charming, cheeky bloke.
Meanwhile, Sarah Smith, the BBC’s North America editor, has a perfectly acceptable Scottish accent that she makes no effort to disguise, and Huw Edwards lasted for years as the BBC’s chief newsreader and major events commentator with his soft Welsh accent. .
There have been times – and I can only attribute this to Beatlemania – when Liverpool became the most envied accent and could be heard everywhere. But Yorkshire, Birmingham, Lancashire and Greater Manchester remain a rarity.
BBC political editor Chris Mason gets away with the slightest hint of North Yorkshire. Sara Cox, from Bolton, has a simple idea of her natural speech patterns.
I’m embarrassed to say I’m a little surprised to hear Johny Pitts, with a very strong Sheffield accent, present Radio 4’s Open Book. He’s an excellent presenter with a deep knowledge of the books he talks about and a very intelligent interview style . Why then do I jump every time I hear my own natural accent come out of the radio? It can only be because it is so rare.
It is time for these prejudices to change. The most depressing complaint Olivia Cooke made was that being working class prevents many young people from getting acting jobs. She says it’s a really exclusive industry and points to the fact that the arts don’t receive funding in public schools. So it’s not just about accents. She is missing out on drama classes that “help children become more confident and feel accepted.”
I know that my years learning to speak and act in public, whether with my teacher, Miss Firth, or in drama at school, gave me the confidence to spend most of my adult life sitting in front of a microphone broadcasting to the nation.
Only one fear dominated those day-to-day actions: the word ‘bus’. I never scripted it, terrified of giving away my Yorkshireness by blurting it out with a wide U sound.
It’s all ridiculous. We are a country of many accents, each one as important as the other. The only thing that matters is clarity, the accent doesn’t matter.
Looking back, I regret not having the courage to be the proud Yorkshire woman I am and let people hear my true voice. Maybe it would have paved the way for Olivia and people like her.
Ab Fab will get them back
Up to their old tricks: Jane Horrocks, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders and Julia Sawalha
Welcome back ladies to a new TV documentary celebrating Absolutely Fabulous with Jane Horrocks as Bubble, Joanna Lumley as Patsy, Jennifer Saunders as Edina and Julia Sawalha as Saffy.
Unfortunately there is no June Whitfield as mom. We will miss her very much. I’ll never forget watching the first episode before an interview with Jennifer, the one where Edina drunkenly falls out of a taxi after a night with Patsy.
There is a full ashtray on his nightstand. My son Ed, who was nine at the time, fell off the couch laughing and said, ‘Wow, Mom, did you and Sally (my closest friend) write this?’
I used to love the sun, now I fear it
After the tragic death of Michael Mosley and several other tourists, we all need to be aware of the danger of heat stroke.
I loved the sun and spent hours tanning covered in nothing but olive oil. No more.
After the tragic death of Michael Mosley (and several other tourists, who died while in the current southern European heatwave), we should all be aware of the danger of heatstroke. Just a couple of weeks ago, on a rare sunny day, I felt sick and passed out during lunch. I was hot and the family diagnosed me with heat stroke.
It seems that it can appear at any age and clearly not only in the scorching heat of Greece. Next week there will be a heat wave. Take care.
A care home in Suffolk has asked residents or their families to indicate what forms of care they are happy with. I would say a firm no to “honey” or “darling.” “Dear” makes me feel old, but I wouldn’t have survived long in Yorkshire if I had opposed “love.”