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| Julie Walters attacks arts cuts | Julie Walters attacks arts cuts |
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| Julie Walters has criticised government cuts in arts funding, saying she might not have made it as an actor if she was starting out as a performer now because of the lack of grants. | Julie Walters has criticised government cuts in arts funding, saying she might not have made it as an actor if she was starting out as a performer now because of the lack of grants. |
| Walters, 63, who got her big break starring opposite Michael Caine in 1983's Educating Rita and has since featured in films including the Harry Potter franchise, said there were no grants now for budding actors to attend drama school and urged the government to change tack. | Walters, 63, who got her big break starring opposite Michael Caine in 1983's Educating Rita and has since featured in films including the Harry Potter franchise, said there were no grants now for budding actors to attend drama school and urged the government to change tack. |
| "If I was coming out into the business now I would never get into drama school," she said, after accepting the outstanding achievement prize at the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts awards in London on Tuesday. | "If I was coming out into the business now I would never get into drama school," she said, after accepting the outstanding achievement prize at the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts awards in London on Tuesday. |
| "It would have been a really hard journey if I had ever made it at all, because there are no grants for them, it is really, really difficult." Asked what could be done to change this, she said: "Yes, the government could change its policies." | "It would have been a really hard journey if I had ever made it at all, because there are no grants for them, it is really, really difficult." Asked what could be done to change this, she said: "Yes, the government could change its policies." |
| Walters studied English and drama at Manchester Polytechnic – now Manchester Metropolitan University – before joining Liverpool's Everyman Theatre. | Walters studied English and drama at Manchester Polytechnic – now Manchester Metropolitan University – before joining Liverpool's Everyman Theatre. |
| She was presented with her award by longtime collaborator Victoria Wood, with whom she has worked on TV shows including Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, which featured Acorn Antiques, and Dinnerladies. | |
| Wood, 59, hit out at reality TV shows such as The Only Way Is Essex, accusing them of "taking the bread and butter out of actors' mouths". | Wood, 59, hit out at reality TV shows such as The Only Way Is Essex, accusing them of "taking the bread and butter out of actors' mouths". |
| She said that she was not against all reality TV but programmes which blurred the line between reality and scripted drama, such as The Only Way Is Essex and Geordie Shore, made her "furious". | She said that she was not against all reality TV but programmes which blurred the line between reality and scripted drama, such as The Only Way Is Essex and Geordie Shore, made her "furious". |
| "Some of them are good, some of them are really drama under a cheaper name and I don't like them," said Wood, who in recent years has had straight acting roles in TV dramas including Morecambe and Wise biopic Eric & Ernie and Housewife 49, which she also wrote. "What I am not a fan of is what they call 'enhanced reality', where they put a bunch of real people into situations and get them to act something out." | "Some of them are good, some of them are really drama under a cheaper name and I don't like them," said Wood, who in recent years has had straight acting roles in TV dramas including Morecambe and Wise biopic Eric & Ernie and Housewife 49, which she also wrote. "What I am not a fan of is what they call 'enhanced reality', where they put a bunch of real people into situations and get them to act something out." |
| "To me that is taking the bread out of the actors' mouths." | "To me that is taking the bread out of the actors' mouths." |
| There was a strong London 2012 theme to this year's South Bank awards, with the winners including Thomas Heatherwick's Olympic 2012 cauldron, which picked up the visual art prize. | There was a strong London 2012 theme to this year's South Bank awards, with the winners including Thomas Heatherwick's Olympic 2012 cauldron, which picked up the visual art prize. |
| BBC2 comedy Twenty Twelve, starring Hugh Bonneville as the hapless fictional Olympic head of deliverance, won the comedy award, while Bond movie Skyfall, which got a hefty promotional boost from Daniel Craig's skit with the Queen for the London 2012 opening ceremony, collected the film prize. | BBC2 comedy Twenty Twelve, starring Hugh Bonneville as the hapless fictional Olympic head of deliverance, won the comedy award, while Bond movie Skyfall, which got a hefty promotional boost from Daniel Craig's skit with the Queen for the London 2012 opening ceremony, collected the film prize. |
| Other winners included the National Theatre's adaptation of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Ghost Patrol, from Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales. | Other winners included the National Theatre's adaptation of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Ghost Patrol, from Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales. |
| • This article was amended on 14 March 2013 to clarify that Acorn Antiques was part of the Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV show. | |
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