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WORK: Thandie Newton

ACTRESS THANDIE Newton has spoken out against the lack of work for black and minority ethnic actors, and says she "can't work" in the UK.

London-born Newton said the number of costume dramas had led to "slim pickings for people of colour".

Speaking to the Sunday Times Magazine, the mother-of-three said: "I love being here, but I can't work, because I can't do Downton Abbey, can't be in Victoria, can't be in Call The Midwife - well, I could, but I don't want to play someone who's being racially abused."

"I'm not interested in that, don't want to do it... there just seems to be a desire for stuff about the Royal Family, stuff from the past, which is understandable, but it just makes it slim pickings for people of colour."

Her criticism comes after British Film Institute research found that 59% of UK films since 2006 had no black actors in any role.

Newton is one of many British actors who've complained about the lack of ethnic diversity in UK TV and film.

David Oyelowo, said that many black British actors head to the US for work because of the lcack of opportunities here. We make period dramas in Britain, but there are almost never black people in them, even though we've been on these shores for hundreds of years.
"It's frustrating, because it doesn't have to be that way".

These comments echo the recent discussion regarding black Brits getting work in American films – something that Samuel L. Jackson criticised and caused a lot of controversy.