Rob Brydon has issued a strong, three-word rebuke to those who describe certain entertainment as “guilty pleasures”.
The Welsh comedian and actor, 58, has become a household name over the years for his roles as the sweet and innocent Bryn in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, and oblivious cabbie Keith Barret in the comedy series Marion and Geoff.
Speaking to The Guardian in a new interview, he said: “I’ve never been one of the cool guys. I’ve always thought it is a folly to concern yourself with that, because that’s fashionable, it comes and goes.
“One of my bugbears is something being described as a ‘guilty pleasure’. I want to say ‘Oh, go f*** yourself’. What is this high position where you’re deeming whatever it is…?”
Elsewhere in the interview, he joked about the trend of comedies being called out for problematic content, saying: “If you take it to its nth degree, I think pretty soon we’re going to have to stop talking about Henry VIII, because of the way he treated women, which I think was appalling.
“But he seems to be getting away with it at the moment. I’ve not heard anybody mention him.”
In 2019, the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special came under fire after Brydon’s Bryn and Ruth Jones’s Nessa sang the homophobic slur “f*****” in “Fairytale of New York”.
Jones defended the use of the word, arguing that the moment “stayed true to the characters”.
She said: “Characters in Gavin & Stacey are kind and big-hearted, I believe. So I think no one is going to be intentionally hurtful.
“But by the same token, they’re not necessarily going to be completely politically correct or be aware of political correctness.”
Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon in ‘Gavin & Stacey’— (BBC)
Brydon is currently promoting his celebrity interview podcast Brydon &.
His guests have included Succession star Matthew MacFadyen, Brydon’s The Trip co-star Steve Coogan, comedian Jennifer Saunders, filmmaker and actor Kenneth Branagh, and musicians from Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher to Chris Martin.
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The Trip sees Brydon and Coogan wine and dine their way around exotic locations, needling each other and doing lots of celebrity impressions along the way.
Read our ranking of the best 10 impressions from the show here.
Brydon can next be seen in the TV series My Lady Jane. The Prime Video show also stars Emily Bader, Edward Bluemel and Jordan Peters, and is adapted from a series of novels that provided a historical reimagining of the life of Lady Jane Grey, written by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows.
He is also voicing a busker called Fred in the Julia Donaldson adaptation Tabby McTat, which co-stars Jodie Whittaker and Joanna Scanlan.
