Express & Star

Peter Rhodes on pronouns, power bills and the stunning success of Barry from Brum

That great national treasure Timothy Spall earned his place in history this week, reading Winston Churchill's 1945 “This is your victory” speech in the nation's VE-Day celebrations. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?

Plus
Published

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565

Back in the day, if anyone had asked you which British actor would be chosen to deliver Churchill's immortal words at a great national anniversary, you probably wouldn't have suggested the bloke who played the dim Brummie, Barry, in the 1980s comedy series, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

I interviewed Spall in the early days of his career and he insisted that Barry's accent, in

Timothy Spall (Yui Mok/PA)