Local actor, comedian and writer, Diane Morgan, recently accepted an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton and her acceptance speech is as heartwarming as it is funny.
Born in Farnworth, Bolton, Diane Morgan has gone on to become a well-known stand-up comedian, actor, TV presenter and writer, among many other things over the past two decades.
Probably best known for her appearances on numerous UK panel shows, Netflix’s Afterlife and as her Bafta-nominated character Philomena Cunk, she is, without doubt, one of the most prominent comics in the country — a fact which was acknowledged by her local university in a ceremony last week.
Presented with the degree during the institution’s final day of annual graduation ceremonies last week, the Cunk on Earth star gave a short, sweet and humorous speech to her fellow graduates, joking, “I should not be here”.
Starting by saying, “There’s been a dreadful mistake”, Morgan was happy to self-deprecate and she accepted the surprise honour, adding, “I got a G in maths. A G!”
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Nevertheless, she expressed her gratitude to the university for their “generosity” and went on to shed further light on her long and winding road to success.
Regaling the audience with the story of how she “bumped into Maxine Peake who is also a Boltonian, when [they] were both auditioning to get into Manchester Polytechnic for the acting course” over 30 years ago, she explained that “neither of [them] got in” and it took “three long years” to be accepted.
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In the time between bumping into Peake outside Bolton Town Hall and getting into drama school, she detailed her various jobs, from “packing worming tablets, selling fish and chips” and even spending time working as “an Avon Lady”. She also confessed she was sacked from almost all of them.
Quipping that she lost one job at Bolton’s local Last Drop Village tea rooms because she didn’t know what a cream tea was, she went on to add: “I am here to tell you that anything is possible. If you’ve got passion and you work hard, you can do absolutely anything.
“Everyone told me that I wouldn’t be able to make it as an actress, that it was an impossible dream, that you’d need maths. You don’t need maths; you don’t need maths for anything… Take that Rishi Sunak!”
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Having cracked up the crowd throughout, that final comment — a dig at the Prime Minister’s remarks that this country suffers due to an “anti-maths mindset” — was met with rapturous applause in a room filled with people who appreciate the arts just as much as they do numbers and the hard sciences.
We pass on our congratulations to Diane Morgan on her honorary doctorate and well-deserved moment of recognition, and hope her story can serve as a reminder that you can do whatever you put your mind to. We didn’t do well in maths either — suck it, Rishi.
Mancs wanted to test their willpower in the wilderness for ‘life-changing’ cash prize in new TV show
Emily Sergeant
Mancs who are willing to put their willpower to the test in a bid to win a ‘life-changing’ cash prize are wanted for a new TV show.
Are you prepared to take on the ultimate test of willpower? Channel 4 is currently casting for the potential next series of the smash-hit show, Tempting Fortune, and is calling on brave people from across Greater Manchester to apply to take part.
Tempting Fortune is described as being a ‘groundbreaking social experiment’.
Filmed in a distant paradise, this epic series full of twists and turns – which ended its gripping second season last Sunday (6 April) – gives a group of regular people the chance to take part in an adventure ‘with a twist’ and earn a ‘substantial cash reward’ at the end of it.
Mancs willing to test their willpower in the wilderness are wanted for a new TV show / Credit: Channel 4
But what stands in the way of that cash prize is the wilderness, and contestants will be tasked with grappling with the elements, the terrain, and their own willpower along the way.
A casting call for the potential upcoming next series of the show on the Channel 4 website reads: “We are casting for fun, diverse individuals from all different backgrounds.
“We are looking for applicants who are excited by the challenge of embarking on a new adventure that will test them both physically and mentally.”
Find out more and apply on the Channel 4 website here.
Featured Image – Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Stockport’s Aimee Lou Wood slams SNL for ‘mean and unfunny’ White Lotus sketch
Danny Jones
Stopfordian White Lotus star, Aimee Lou Wood, has fired back at Saturday Night Live (SNL) following a new skit that has been equally slammed by others on social media for mocking her.
Wood was the subject of a recent skit on SNL entitled ‘The White Potus’, in which her physical appearance and voice were heavily parodied.
The Bramhall-born actor is best known for her roles in Netflix’s Sex Education, Daddy Issues – the BBC Three comedy filmed in Stockport – and now the hit HBO show, White Lotus, becoming an increasingly household name both in Britain and in the US.
Unfortunately, it is her increasingly recognisable face that the long-running sketch comedy show seemingly targeted as one of their jokes last week, and now Aimee Lou Wood has commented on the controversy, confessing that she was left hurt by the jokes.
Replying to an Instagram post which read, “YOU ARE STUNNING. PERIOD”, a first response to what has been labelled an ‘insensitive’ sketch was coaxed out of her, with Wood writing: “Whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny.”
The 31-year-old has since gone on to continue discussing the matter in multiple IG stories, reiterating that while she is not “thin-skinned”, understands the show and has enjoyed it even of late, she would have liked something done in a “more nuanced, less cheap way.”
She went on to say: “On a positive note, everyone is agreeing with me about it, so I’m glad I said something instead of going in on myself.”
The Greater Manchester native has been hit with a wave of support online, with many pointing out that everyone else parodied was a political figure except her, as Wood also noted that the rest of the sketch was “punching up” until it came to her teeth and Mancunian accent.
Wood insisted that she didn’t take issue with the SNL cast member who played her, Sarah Sherman, but more the content of the joke, adding that the joke was about fluoride (i.e. toothpaste) and that she has “big teeth not bad teeth.” She also qualified that claims about her treatment by HBO were false.
Credit: Screenshots via IG
Wood has since revealed that SNL – which is aired by US network NBC – have now sent their apologies, though she hasn’t detailed exactly what message(s) received state.
It looks like the SK local is now hoping to draw a line under the whole thing, but she is still being met with an outpouring of love and support from her followers and fellow famous names.
One of those who came to her defence is former Channel 4 presenter and The Good Place star Jameela Jamil, who wrote: “I hate this so much. It’s the least interesting or memorable thing about this brilliant actor. Our next Olivia Coleman…
“We make fun of the assimilation of women, then mercilessly obsess over anyone with any slightly alternative features […] I also think she’s so f***ing beatiful and love her face so much and wouldn’t want her to look any different.”
Danny Jones -
17th July 2023 
