"I'm having a bit of trouble. I've moved from the East End of London to Weatherfield, and something's happened to my voice along the way. No matter how hard I try, my accent still sounds as if I come from Dahnn Saarff. My partner's accent's fine; it's just mine. Can you help me?"
Yours Sincerely,
Cindy, sorry ... Stella.
PS My daughter looks older than me. What should I do?
Dear Cindy, sorry Stella,
I'd noticed that myself when I saw you for the first time. Let's give it a week or two to see if it settles down, but in the meantime I can only suggest that you go and see a specialist who might be able to help you sound a little more Northern.
I'm recommending you seek help quite urgently. I'll get my Secretary to phone you with the number of a very good chap I know, and hopefully that'll sort you out. I'll be keeping a close eye on you, and let's just hope that with a course of intensive coaching we'll be able to see a marked improvement very soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Doctor Jane.
PS As for your daughter: not a lot I can do about that one I'm afraid, but at least you're aware of the problem.
5 comments:
I don't know why they bother. If an actor patently can't "do" an accent, why not simply write in a few seconds' back story to allow them Savvern roots? It worked fine for Danny Baldwin. Accents come naturally for some - Sean Gilder was so good as Paddy Maguire I thought he *was* Irish until I saw him in The Shadow Line - but not for others. No point forcing it. If she tries too hard, she'll end up really needing a doctor!
I'm actually not that bothered by the accent. It's a little rough around the edges, but by the end of the Friday episodes I'd stopped noticing the voice Michelle Collins was using and was just seeing the character Stella. I think everyone should just wait and see how she settles into the role instead of giving her a hard time based on her first couple of episodes. The character has loads of potential.
If Stella does find a way to make her daughter look younger than her, can she pass the info on to Nicky Platt?
Michelle Collins is an ACTOR and should be able to go into a role and take on that regional accent. Its part and parcel of the trade like typing for a secretary. You wouldnt have know John Savidant as Fred Elliot wasnt really a northerner but in "real" life he had a posh Shakespearean accent. If she had difficulty she should have appointed a dialect coach, not just turn up to the job and speak like a strangled cat.
I agree with Digger. I suspect in the long-run, she won't be able to maintain the accent and it'll go the way of other personality-changes or story-changes down the line and the producers will just expect fans to not remember.
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