Friday Night Dinner star Tamsin Greig says she ‘probably shouldn’t’ have played a Jewish mum

“For instance, Cleopatra has long been on my list of roles to play but I have to step back from that now, because Cleopatra needs to be played by someone who looks like they may have come from that area of the world. That’s absolutely right. But I’ll keep Lady Macbeth on the list.”

 The show ended after six seasons following the death of cast-member Paul Ritter, who played Jackie’s husband.

Ms Greig, 55, who has some Jewish ancestry, was speaking to the Telegraph today ahead of appearing as theatre agent Peggy Ramsay in a revival of Alan Plater’s play Peggy for You at the Hampstead Theatre.  

The issue of Jewish representation has sparked debate in recent years, with actresses Maureen Lipman, Miriam Margolyes and other artists signing a letter in 2019 accusing a musical of “jewface."

More recently, comedian Sarah Silverman echoed a growing chorus of criticism, as she told her podcast in October that if a “Jewish female character is courageous or deserves love, she is never played by a Jew.”