Northallerton's Jessica Barden hits out over working class characters

Jessica Barden, an actress born into a working-class family in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, has taken exception to stars such as Emma Corrin, who recently said they wanted to star in a 'gritty' independent film after playing Diana in the Crown.

Jessica feels that if she gets a script for a 'gritty' show or film, it means she is playing something being abused.

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She believes that posh actors and actresses should not venture into the realms of playing working-class characters in shows and films.

Jessica has said that she 'dies inside' when she reads words such as 'gritty' or 'feisty' when describing roles for working-class characters.

She believes that 'gritty' means working class and 'feisty' means having an opinion.

Jessica now lives in Los Angeles with her husband Max Winkler and has had a successful career, playing roles such as Pea Gibbons in Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth at London's Royal Court Theatre.

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In her role, she was a drunk teen who came out from underneath a caravan worse for wear during the show.

In contrast, Emma Corrin was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, and her career has taken a different path, with her most recent role being Diana in the Crown.

Jessica believes that actors and actresses like Emma should not venture into the realms of playing working-class characters as they have not experienced the same lifestyle, and so will not be able to portray the character accurately.