CHRISTOPHER Eccleston has suggested he was not asked to audition for the BBC’s Hollow Crown series because of class prejudice.

The Salford-born actor said he was not asked to try out for the television film adaptations of Shakespeare’s history plays because “there’s an assumption being made there about my accent, and my background”.

Eccleston, 54, also criticised the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), telling Radio Times magazine the organisation needs “a revolution” in its approach to diversity.

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SIR Kenneth Branagh has begun production on his new film Artemis Fowl, starring Dame Judi Dench and Josh Gad, Disney has confirmed.

The movie is based on the first book of Eoin Colfer’s series of the same name, and will film in England, Northern Ireland and Ho Chi Minh City.

Newcomer Ferdia Shaw plays 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, who is descended from a long line of criminal masterminds and who finds himself in a battle of strength and cunning against a powerful, hidden race of fairies who may be behind his father’s disappearance.

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TIME’S Up has celebrated the decision to investigate the prosecutors who decided not to bring a sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein.

The initiative set up by women in Hollywood in the wake of the scandal against the disgraced mogul praised New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s “swift response”.

Time’s Up on Monday called for the politician to launch an independent investigation into Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R Vance Jr’s decision over the 2015 incident.

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BROADCASTER Paul Gambaccini has said his arrest as part of Operation Yewtree has changed his view of his adopted home.

The American-born presenter and DJ was arrested in October 2013 over a sexual assault claim, allegations which he denied, and spent a year on bail before being told he would not face charges because of insufficient evidence.

Gambaccini, who became a UK citizen in 2005, is taking action against the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service.

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An Evening with Paul Gambaccini (subtitled The Great Gambo – the Professor of Pop) is a 21-date tour starting on April 6, which lifts the lid on the star’s life story.