Christopher Eccleston says it would be ‘impossible’ for him to become an actor today

Christopher Eccleston has been praised for his impassioned interview on how the closure of Oldham’s historic Coliseum theatre will affect the acting community.

After a failed campaign to save the acting venue, it was closed on Friday (31 March), becoming the biggest theatre outside London to lose it Arts Council England (ACE) subsidy of £600,000.

Eccleston, who gew up in Salford, participated in a closing event at the theatre alongside 20 actors, including Maxine Peake, who all payed tribute to the venue that the former said was a “beacon” for actors based in the Greater Manchester region.

The former Doctor Who star appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today on Saturday (1 April) where he spoke about the ramifications such a closure will have on the acting community in the area.

"I went to see productions there as a child and I just think it's tragic that Oldham and its borough is losing a theatre in a time where we're supposed to be levelling up,” he said.

“What last night was about was beginning a campaign to establish a new theatre in Oldham, and also to say this can't happen anywhere else. Because the question in my mind is, if they can get rid of Oldham Coliseum, which has been there for over 100 years, where’s next for the North West?”

Eccleston, whose credits include Cracker, 28 Days Later... and The Leftovers, continued: “If you grow up in the North West, you don’t feel the culture and the arts belong to you. You don't believe if you come from a council estate you can be an actor, a poet or a painter.

“So places like Oldham Coliseum, Bolton Octagon – they're a beacon for people like me.”

He said he “wouldn't be an actor if it wasn't for” such venues, stating: “And they’re disappearing. So what happens to this generation’s Chris Ecclestons or Maxine Peakes, or whoever you want to name?

“There's no more actors like me coming through – it's impossible. Now, you've just got to go to public school, haven’t you? You've got to go to Oxbridge, otherwise you can't act.”

He said he would advise aspiring actors from the North West “not to just think about becoming an actor”, but to “produce, direct, use iPhones, use everything available to you”.

The actor also warned: “You’re going to have to put up with the unemployment – you’re gonna have to put up with the rejection – and that’s going to be doubled if you’re from a working class background or if you’re a minority, etc etc.”

Ecclestonalso said he will “keep banging on” about ACE’s promise of a new theatre set up in Oldham in 2026, and the money that would have gone to the Coliseum will be given to the council “to fund other arts projects in the area”.

After hearing his interview, social media users heaped praise upon Eccleston for drawing attention to the closure, and stressing the negative effect it’ll have on, not only the acting profession, but communities in the surrounding areas, who he said used the theatre to come together in an “increasingly polarised” society.

“God bless Christopher Eccleston (on Today), for refusing to offer soothing platitudes about the forgotten north, class and race bias, the Establishment chokehold on the arts, ingrained elitism, you name it. Go get ‘em!” one listener wrote.

Another adding: “Great interview with Christopher Eccleston on Radio 4 this morning, finger on the pulse with regard to the North West,” while one stated: “Utterly agree with how angry #ChristopherEccleston is about the lack of support for working class actors/creatives. “

An additional fan wrote: “Omg Christopher Eccleston bravo. Bravo bravo. Stand up applause. And now can we put the lens on the publishing industry and privilege.”