Michelle on racism in her career
ON RACISM SHE CLAIMED SHE HEARD ON SET MICHELLE Gayle has spoken of the blatant racism she suffered during her early career.
The actress and singer claimed one fellow Eastenders cast member even branded black actors “tokens”.
And she revealed as a pop star she was ordered to change the name of her album as it reflected her roots. The 49-year-old told how she encountered problems on Grange
Hill, where she played
Fiona Wilson, and
Eastenders as Hattie
Tavernier.
Speaking of her three years at
Walford from 1990,
Michelle told
Grazia magazine:
“I heard an actor say black actors were ‘tokens’ without realising I was there. I didn’t complain. All I did was think, ‘If that’s how we’re thought of, I can’t wait to get out.’” Michelle also claimed she was threatened with a Top of the Pops ban after revealing in a 1994 interview she had been stopped in her sports car three times in a week. It was published as her single Sweetness was released, with a B-side called Walk of Pride.
She added: “I was told Top of the Pops was considering dropping me and I had to explain myself.
“The record company said I could no longer call my album Walk of Pride and my management told me, ‘Less of the black stuff.’
“It was a feeling my experience wasn’t valid.
“At no point did I hear, ‘Wow I can’t believe you were treated like that.’
“And that’s very, very hurtful. I’ve had to deal with incidents like it all my life. On Grange Hill, I was 10 when a chaperone said, ‘They’ve been working me like a n ***** .’”
Michelle, currently playing Hermione in West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, said she had to “internalise or put up with” the racism.
■ Read the full interview at graziadaily.co.uk/life/in-the-news/
Actress
All I did was think, ‘If that’s how we’re thought of, I can’t wait to get out’
MICHELLE