Russell T Davies has complained that Hugh Grant’s bumbling character in Four Weddings And A Funeral has 'infected the whole of fiction'.
Russell, who was responsible for the return to TV of Doctor Who, said that he was determined to create the antithesis of Hugh’s alter ego, Charles, in his new Channel 4 drama, Cucumber.
He told Radio Times magazine: “It’s infected the whole of fiction, so that men in every drama you turn on are mostly playing variations of Hugh Grant in Four Weddings.
Hugh Grant as Charles in Four Weddings (United Archives/IFTN/DPA)
“They’ve been doing this for 20 years. I absolutely wanted to stop that. Everything is written in that tone of voice now, the ironic tone of voice. The not-quite-being-honest voice,” he said.
Russell, who created Queer As Folk, examines 'the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life' in Cucumber.
Vincent Franklin stars as Henry Best in Cucumber (Channel 4)
He insisted that he loved Hugh in Four Weddings And A Funeral, but said of his new protagonist, Henry: “I wanted to write a man who doesn’t resort to those speech patterns. I could do that reflexive voice for Henry easily, but I just want to make him tougher and harder.”
