Sloppy speech drives top actress mad, innit

Emma Thompson has declared war on sloppy speech. The actress, 51, who has penned a new version of the musical My Fair Lady, said she had been driven "insane" by people who do not speak properly.

She said: "We have to reinvest, I think, in the idea of articulacy as a form of personal human freedom and power.

"I went to give a talk at my old school and the girls were all doing their 'likes' and 'innits?' and 'it ain'ts', which drives me insane.

"I told them, 'Just don't do it. Because it makes you sound stupid and you're not stupid'."

The Oscar-winning star recently caused controversy when she said that screen icon Audrey Hepburn, who played Eliza Doolittle in the original film version of My Fair Lady, was "not a very good actress".

British actress Carey Mulligan is to play the Cockney flower girl in the remake of the musical.

Nanny McPhee star Thompson also said she was not tempted by plastic surgery.

She said: "I simply cannot imagine making that decision and dealing with my own shame.

"It really does seem to me to be quite psychologically dysfunctional and part of this ridiculous culture of perfection."