GR Direct - Sony - Save up to £500
Tuesday 22 July 2025
 19.3°C   SSE Gentle Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

News / Cox on isles accent

Brian Cox

A LEADING Scottish actor has hit out at the BBC for asking him to re-record his accent for the crime series ‘Shetland’, broadcast on the network earlier this year.

Brian Cox reckoned he had learned the Shetland tongue “pretty well” for his character Magnus Bain, but was asked to re-record his lines because of fears that viewers would not understand it.

Speaking during a debate in Glasgow, he was critical of the corporation’s policy on regional broadcasting.

“I thought I’d conquered the accent pretty well, and even learned some old Shetland words, but I had to re-voice my part because they said my accent was too strong for the average audience to understand,” Cox said.

“This was not an artistic decision; it was a BBC decision to please a certain audience. I was extremely affected by it, it bothered me a lot, because I didn’t think it was fair on those who have that accent or other regional accents who pay their licence fee.

“That shouldn’t have happened in a BBC Scotland drama. I pointed out that they didn’t dub the Scandinavian crime drama The Bridge, they had subtitles, so why couldn’t they subtitle Shetland?”

Following a pilot episode in 2013, six episodes of ‘Shetland’ – based on crime writer Ann Cleeves’ novels – were broadcast during February and March and a further series has been commissioned.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Categories

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.