Tamsin Greig said she “probably shouldn’t have been” cast in Friday Night Dinner as a Jewish mother.
The actor, who played Jackie Goodman in Channel 4, recently discussed cultural sensitivity concerning her character’s Jewish ancestry.
“I think, given our sensitivity today about these issues, I probably shouldn’t have been in that show,” Greig told The Telegraph earlier this month.
“We are much more conscious today than we were when that show was first aired.”
Earlier today, Tamsin Greig explained what she meant by her comments.
“I think it was taken slightly out of context,” Greig said. “What I meant by it was, if we were casting it now, we’d have had very, very different conversations about the necessity of casting me in it and whether the casting should have been wider.”
She added: “Ten years ago, who knew those conversations were coming? We do things thinking, ‘Oh, that looks like a really interesting role and actually it’s about a woman trying to survive in a wild family that seems to be falling apart.’ I think at that time that was a very resonant part of people’s lives.”
On the subject of playing a Jewish role as a non-Jewish actor, Greig said: “That’s the conversation at the moment… We all make very different choices depending on the weather that surrounds us culturally, right?”
The show’s creator Robert Popper is Jewish, along with Tracy-Ann Oberman.
Robert announced recently that he is working on a new sitcom called “I Hate You,” starring Tanya Reynolds and Newcomer Melissa Saint.
Speaking about the show, Popper said: “Having spent ten years writing a show about a super intense family, I really wanted my next one to be about super intense friends. And, since I’ve never had a friend in my life, I’m hoping this will teach me how to find one.”
