Putting the accent on how we speak

Not very, if Anston-born pop star and actor Rebecca Lucy Taylor's experiences are anything to go by.She has revealed that, in different parts of her career, she has had to sound different to the way she grew up talking.Right now, she is speaking "posh" in her part as Sally Bowles in the West End production of Cabaret.But having to ditch her accent is something that was asked of her from her early days in pop.Speaking on a BBC Sounds production (in her normal voice) the 37-year-old former Dinnington Operating Society cast member, recalled that when she chose to refine her accent: “All the boys in the band said I was more attractive. I remember that vividly.”Broadcaster Samira Ahmed asked her how she has had to change to play Bowles, with her "cut glass accent" at London's Kit Kat Club.“She is this posh girl from Mayfair slumming it in Berlin, and it is no secret you grew up in Rotherham, your dad was a steelworker, you had pretty humble beginnings...it couldn't be more different,” said Samira.Rebecca (known as Self Esteem in the music world) replied how she identified with the role - a woman who had been exploited but was now rejecting "society's norms."The pressure on Rebecca to come across as somebody else, particularly in her days with her band, is something other artists face.But is the Yorkshire accent sexy...or commercially undesirable?A couple of years ago Yorkshire was voted the sexiest English male accent, ahead of Geordies and Mancunians.That wasn't the case with women with the same pronunciation though; only 11 per cent of men found the Yorkshire dialect a turn on.Back in 2019, things were worse.In another poll (1.5 million people were allegedly asked to vote) our regional accent was named in the top ten of the LEAST attractive in the UK.Rebecca says: “There’s no going back: my unique selling point is that it’s me and this is unfortunately what I am.”And she isn't averse to the odd shock tactic, surprising a Glastonbury audience by sporting a bra featuring Meadowhall Shopping Centre's domes.A t-shirt resembling the outfit recently became available with the profits going to the Breast Cancer Now charity.