Jimmy Mcgovern

Multi-award winning screenwriter Jimmy McGovern says he struggles to find actors to play working class roles because "only the posh ones who can afford to go into acting." The Brookside writer added his voice to the debate on the privately educated dominating the arts, following contributions from Julie Walters, Michael Gambon, Labour MP Chris Bryant and singer James Blunt.

Julie Walters' comments have been echoed by Jimmy McGovern

"I'm constantly looking round for actors who can convincingly portray working-class men," McGovern told the Radio Times. "They're getting fewer and fewer because it's only the posh ones who can afford to go into acting."

Continue reading: Jimmy McGovern, "Only The Posh Ones Can Afford To Go Into Acting"

This year's BAFTA nominations is a pretty well rounded list, favouring Jimmy McGovern's superb 'Accused' series, the Sienna Miller starring 'The Girl' and 'Last Tango In Halifax,' a drama about elderly sweethearts reuniting through the internet. Notable by its absence though was Downton Abbey, which rightfully failed to secure a single nomination after a dreadful season that, at best, got lukewarm reviews and at worse was ridiculed by critics.

Instead it was the Derek Jacobi starring 'Last Tango' and Jimmy McGovern's Accused that led the way, while comedy Twenty Twelve and the Olympics coverage received four nominations each. In the acting categories, Sean Bean was nominated for his excellent turn as transvestite Tracie in Accused, while Jacobi got a nod for Tango. Sienna Miller, as Tippi Hedren, and Anne Reid were both nominated for Best Actress, while the Best Supporting Actress gong should go to either Imelda Staunton or Sarah Lancashire.

Though American audiences are seemingly all too happy to eat up whatever Julian Fellowes scribbles down for Downton Abbey, many critics were unhappy with the storytelling and farfetched shockers in season three, including when popular character Matthew died in a car crash. Fellowes took the opportunity to defend his work when speaking with the New York Times. "Most of the soap operas always use the Christmas special to kill huge quantities of their characters. So they have trams coming off their rails, or cars slamming into each other or burning buildings. It's a general clear-out," he said.

Continue reading: BAFTA Rightly Snubs Downton Abbey In Favour Of Accused, The Girl, Last Tango