EXCLUSIVE: TV and radio presenter Jeremy Vine discovered that it’s a no-no to try and impersonate almost anyone outside the British Isles when he came to record his book
Audiobooks are the latest victims of the woke brigade. Celebrities who narrate their best-selling novels have been told not to mimic foreign accents for any of their characters because it might cause offence.
TV and radio presenter Jeremy Vine admits he got a shock when he agreed to record the audiobook for his latest mystery novel Murder On Line One. He discovered that it’s a no-no to try and impersonate almost anyone outside the British Isles.
Vine said: “I agreed to do the audiobook but I didn’t think it through. There are all kinds of issues these days with audiobooks so you can’t really do any accents of any country or continent that Britain has colonised in the past.
“So, as crazy as that may sound, and it’s probably right, then you sort of think ‘Does that include Scotland you know?’ and ‘What if I then try a Welsh accent? Will I sound like Huw Edwards or something?’
“English regional is absolutely fine. Nobody’s going to be offended.
“French is fine. German is tricky.
“There are so many blooming issues but about half the world’s accents you can’t do now.”
The Channel 5 and Radio Two star joked that he did come unstuck with one of the characters in his book.
He told a literary festival: “The one thing I have learned doing the audiobook is never have a character who’s born in Glasgow, grew up in Brighton and then moves to be adopted by a vicar in Devon – because that accent is impossible and you’ll sound Sean Connery-esque.”
The ex Strictly contestant also admitted that he never realised how long it takes to record an audio edition of a book.
He added: “You’ve got to do something like 30 hours or something. It takes quite a lot of time to read it.”
The news comes as Jeremy Vine is set to front a new quiz show. The presenter will be putting famous faces through their paces on Celebrity Puzzling.
It will feature questions involving logic, lateral thinking and problem solving and Jeremy reckons it’s a tip top format.
He said: “It’s amazing to do a quiz that’s so simple and yet feels so fresh in every way.”
TV favourites Carol Voderman and Sally Lindsay have been hired to be team captains for the show, which is being made for 5.
They will be joined by a string of big names including Shaun Williamson, Les Dennis, Gareth Malone, John Thomson, Dom Joly and Scarlett Moffatt.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
