Rob’s Cold war on mumblers

TV star criticises actors over unclear dialogue

ROBERT Bathurst has joined in the criticism of actors who do not speak clearly on TV.

The Cold Feet star also admitted he sometimes struggles to understand others on set due to their mumbling.

And Bathurst even claimed there are directors who are too afraid to criticise the culprits.

The 63-year-old pointed to screen legends such as David Niven, George Sanders and John Le Mesurier as examples of stars who knew “what value they could give to a line of dialogue”. Writing in The Oldie magazine, he said: “All these actors, along with many others including Alec Guinness, Trevor Howard and Jack Hawkins, shared one underrated quality… you could hear what they said.

“It is a taboo in some circles now to say that an actor is inaudible. I’ve worked with directors who are too scared to say so or too clotheared to notice.” Speaking of his own experiences, Bathurst – who played David Marsden in ITV’S Cold Feet – “I once filmed some dialogue with an actor who was four feet from me but the only way I knew it was my cue was that his lips stopped moving.” The row over mumbling on TV has raged for several years.

In 2017 there was a spate of complaints about unclear dialogue on shows such as Jamaica Inn – and more recently Poldark.

But some experts insist the sound on flatscreen TVS may be to blame.

It is a taboo to say an actor is inaudible. I’ve worked with directors too scared to say so

ROBERT BATHURST (LEFT) ON MUMBLING TELEVISON ACTORS

CLEAR Niven