Breaking: Dick Van Dyke has revealed why his Mary Poppins accent was so bad

‘Cor blimey guvnor

Holly Rains
By
published
in Features

‘Cor blimey guvnor

Ah, Dick Van Dyke, the silver-haired fox best known for his portrayal of a cockney chimneysweep in Mary Poppins and/or Dr. Mark Sloan, chief of Internal Medicine at Community General Hospital (we’re talking about Diagnosis Murder in case you’re not a fan of daytime TV).

Today, we will mainly be focusing on his seminal role as the aforementioned chimneysweep, Bert, in Mary Poppins, the 1964 film in which he starred alongside Julie Andrews and her impeccable RP accent.

One of favourite takeaways from the film - of which there were many - was Dick Van Dyke’s ‘spirited’ Cockney accent. What did it hail from? Some deep recess of East London that claims to be the original birthplace of Cockney? No. It came from Ireland.

In a recent interview with The Mirror following his 90th birthday, DVD finally set the record straight about his incredible accent. Turns out, it wasn’t his fault.

‘They only sent a coach to me once for that accent,’ he explained, ‘and he was an Irishman – his cockney accent was not much better than mine.’

And so, a 52-year-old mystery has been solved.

Holly Rains
Holly Rains

Holly Rains is the digital editor of Marie Claire UK. She has over 10 years journalism experience, working as an editor and writer, specialising in digital media, content strategy and dog breeds. Prior to Marie Claire, she has held senior staff positions at ELLE UK, Grazia and Company magazine.

Holly is a frequent speaker, panelist and interviewer on a range of subjects including media trends, careers and entertainment. From working with Reuters to provide global red carpet coverage for events like the BAFTAs, to discussing fashion and beauty trends on network TV, she was also the host of the Marie Claire series ‘Holly’s First Dates’, where she regularly interviewed a mix of inspiring woman and A-list celebrities (including Jack Black, Dakota Fanning and Renée Zellweger)  - a series which garnered half a million views in its first two months. And was approved by The Rock.

Her love of office-based meetings means that the days of discovering the melting point of Cadbury's Flakes are long gone, but when she isn't dreaming of scheduling in meetings, she likes to think about social media, and how best to avoid it whilst still retaining the title of 'digital' editor. She also likes learning about emerging technology, Influencers and how to become a Financially Responsible Adult.

Contact Holly: holly.rains@futurenet.com

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