A comedian used her BAFTA win to take a stand against Government cuts to education and the arts.

Jessica Hynes, who grew up in Brighton, scooped a win for best female performance in a comedy programme at the award ceremony.

The actress won the award for playing Siobhan Sharpe in comedy W1A but used her acceptance speech to speak out against the threat of cuts to state education after the Conservatives’ election victory.

The former Dorothy Stringer High School student said: “I’m from a single parent family. I’m really worried about the cuts that are coming in state education and to people in low income families.

“Because I don't feel low income means low talent, low imagination or low intelligence.”

The star of the former Channel 4 show Spaced also urged colleagues and viewers to support the work of the charity Arts Emergency, which provides access to the arts for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

She said: “To organisations like that, and the people who have supported me all the way through my career – thank you, everyone, this is for you – without them, I wouldn't be here.”

Mrs Hynes said her fears were centred around the arts in higher education.

She said: “The arts is the first thing to go when the cuts and austerity hit.”

When asked if she was disappointed with the election result, she simply nodded and said “yeah”.

Mrs Hynes has offered free acting lessons to 20 state school drama departments to help youngsters break into a career in acting and writing.

Her warning about funding comes after previous Tory cuts to the arts have included plans to privatise parts of public institutions such as the National Gallery, the closure of publically funded arts resource Ideas Tap and a review of the BBC funding structure.

Actress Jane Crawshaw, who works with Arts Emergency, said she “may have cried” listening to Mrs Hynes speech.

Comedian Katie Mulgrew said Mrs Hynes was a “smasher” and was “using her Bafta win to say something massively important”.

 

background
JESSICA Hynes was born in London but grew up in Brighton, getting her start as a member of the National Youth Theatre.
She first rose to prominence playing the character Cheryl in Hit Sitcom the Royle Family in the late nineties.
She co-wrote and starred in acclaimed television show Spaced with Simon Pegg.
She also had TV roles in Black Books, Randall and Hopkirk and Doctor Who, as well as parts in the movies Son of Rambow, Magicians, and Harry Potter.
She currently stars in W1A, a satirical take on the internal workings of the BBC.