Joanna Page, star of Gavin and Stacey, highlighted the terrible reality of auditioning for TV series and stated she was once rejected by a production because of her appearance.
On Wednesday, the 46-year-old BBC actor appeared on the Loose Women panel and addressed co-hosts Ruth Langsford, Coleen Nolan, and Brenda Edwards about her experiences as a young actress.
She astounded the women when she said that she had been urged to change her appearance and accent if she wanted to advance in the audition process.
Joanna shared: ‘I had an audition and I’d been back about nine times and it was going really good.
‘And then they said to my agent, “Could you please tell her that we just don’t think she’s pretty enough before the next callback? And to go to the department store and get them to do her makeup and everything and then come to the audition”.
‘I went back and that still wasn’t good enough and then they said “We’re worried about her accent, can she then go and have coaching?”
‘And then I had the coaching and then I got the part.’
The beloved singer did not reveal whose character she was auditioning for at the moment, but she did not hold back while retelling the interaction with show executives.
She finished off telling her tale by admitting she sometimes struggled with the rejection of the industry and said: ‘The worse thing is not finding out that you haven’t got the job until actually you’re seeing it on the TV and then you go “Oh gosh, this is why I didn’t get the part”.
Ruth, a broadcaster, chimed in with her thoughts on the TV industry’s approach to employment distribution.
She said: ‘I think I think for me, I deal I probably deal better with disappointment as I’ve got older because it’s a maturity thing, isn’t it?
‘So when you’re young and you’ve built up all your expectations, whether it is a boyfriend you want or a dress that you’re hoping to fit into and then it doesn’t happen – you’re crushed.
‘But I think as life teaches, you know, there are disappointments in life. And I get better at dealing with it.’
Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV
