Dorrit’s Sir Tom attacks ‘too many’ musicals in West End

VETERAN stage actor Sir Tom Courtenay has criticised the dominance of musicals in the West End.

The 71-year-old, who is appearing as William Dorrit in the BBC1 adaptation of Dickens' Little Dorrit, says it is a "shame" that plays have lost out to musicals. "In my day we learned to tread the boards, which is what we wanted, and there were lots of plays on the West End stage," he said. "Now it's all musicals, which is a shame."

Sir Tom shot to fame in the Sixites with a succession of critically-acclaimed films including Billy Liar and Dr Zhivago.

But the actor, who was awarded a knighthood in 2001, told the Radio Times he had no desire to return to the stage.