This is Derbyshire --
A FORMER tutor of Holby City star Tom Chambers said he is astonished the actor was turned down for Downton Abbey because he "wasn't posh enough".
Tom, 36, from Parwich and who was educated at expensive Repton School, auditioned for the part in Downton to play the new love interest of widowed Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery.
But he was rejected by the show's bosses because he would not have fitted in with the upper-class characters.
He said: "I was told I didn't have enough blue blood in me to join the series.
"I was extremely eager to get the role, so it was disappointing but you have to become very thick-skinned about the things that don't come your way."
Michael Moore, deputy head of The Guildford School of Acting, where Tom trained, said he was astonished at his audition failure.
Mr Moore said: "We spend a long time teaching people received pronunciation and anyone speaking to Tom wouldn't doubt it.
"Maybe our RP lessons haven't done him much good if he's not up to Downton!"
However, Tom is pleased he was turned down for Downton because he would not have landed the lead role in the BBC One drama Father Brown otherwise.
He told the Birmingham Mail: "If I had got the job, I wouldn't have been able to do this, so it wasn't so bad in the end.
"I'm delighted to be joining such an exciting series."
The fourth series of the show, which starts in September, will tell the story of Mary who is struggling to manage as a single parent with a baby after her husband, Matthew Crawley, was killed in a car crash in the Christmas Day special of the hit programme.
Tom should not be too downcast at the snub as he is also set to star alongside Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent in a BBC drama about the Great Train Robbery later this year.
He appear in the second part of the drama, called A Coppers' Tale, which also stars Robert Glenister, Tim Pigott-Smith and James Fox.
A Copper's Tale tells the story of Tommy Butler, played by Jim Broadbent, and the crack team of detectives he assembled in his quest to bring the robbers to justice.
No date has been set for when the drama will be broadcast but this August marks 50 years since the heist.
As well as his roles in hit TV dramas Holby City and Waterloo Road, Tom won the 2009 series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Camilla Dallerup. Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
A FORMER tutor of Holby City star Tom Chambers said he is astonished the actor was turned down for Downton Abbey because he "wasn't posh enough".
Tom, 36, from Parwich and who was educated at expensive Repton School, auditioned for the part in Downton to play the new love interest of widowed Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery.
But he was rejected by the show's bosses because he would not have fitted in with the upper-class characters.
He said: "I was told I didn't have enough blue blood in me to join the series.
"I was extremely eager to get the role, so it was disappointing but you have to become very thick-skinned about the things that don't come your way."
Michael Moore, deputy head of The Guildford School of Acting, where Tom trained, said he was astonished at his audition failure.
Mr Moore said: "We spend a long time teaching people received pronunciation and anyone speaking to Tom wouldn't doubt it.
"Maybe our RP lessons haven't done him much good if he's not up to Downton!"
However, Tom is pleased he was turned down for Downton because he would not have landed the lead role in the BBC One drama Father Brown otherwise.
He told the Birmingham Mail: "If I had got the job, I wouldn't have been able to do this, so it wasn't so bad in the end.
"I'm delighted to be joining such an exciting series."
The fourth series of the show, which starts in September, will tell the story of Mary who is struggling to manage as a single parent with a baby after her husband, Matthew Crawley, was killed in a car crash in the Christmas Day special of the hit programme.
Tom should not be too downcast at the snub as he is also set to star alongside Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent in a BBC drama about the Great Train Robbery later this year.
He appear in the second part of the drama, called A Coppers' Tale, which also stars Robert Glenister, Tim Pigott-Smith and James Fox.
A Copper's Tale tells the story of Tommy Butler, played by Jim Broadbent, and the crack team of detectives he assembled in his quest to bring the robbers to justice.
No date has been set for when the drama will be broadcast but this August marks 50 years since the heist.
As well as his roles in hit TV dramas Holby City and Waterloo Road, Tom won the 2009 series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Camilla Dallerup. Reported by This is 10 hours ago.