Halifax star: Rada snobs put me down

LAST Tango In Halifax star Anne Reid has misgivings about going to one of the world’s most prestigious acting schools because they damaged her self-esteem — and nearly ruined her career.

‘I regret going to Rada. They told me I wasn’t the leading-lady type. I don’t think they served me very well,’ she explains.

‘So I became a stage manager, then a waitress. Which was mad, because I was quite a good actress.’

The 82-year-old, who has starred in Coronation Street and the BBC comedy Dinnerladies, adds: ‘When they told me at Rada I wasn’t leading-lady material, I took that to mean I wasn’t attractive enough.

‘I was always put down, always told I wasn’t the kind who would make an actress. I didn’t feel attractive at all, which is a shame, because when I see pictures of myself I was really quite pretty, if a bit overweight.

‘I look back now at things I did with Victoria Wood and I remember I felt fat then, but now I think I looked quite good.’