Every casting director in every television company must have a section in a filing cabinet market 'fat, little rascal, northern accent'.

I know from my own experience that we are overflowing with young talent in this city alone - schools, Youth Theatre Yorkshire, Stagecoach, Rowntree Youth Theatre.

Why then, don't casting directors get off their backsides and see for themselves what is available?

Last weekend there was the ludicrous situation of the same boy playing the fat, northern rascal in three different productions within 24 hours.

He moved from Heartbeat on Sunday to spread himself all over Deirdre Barlow's settee in Coronation Street on Monday at 7.30pm and within two hours he was helping Cops with their inquiries on BBC2.

What is going on?

Is there a television repertory company with the same actors appearing in everything?

If so, could we please have Helen Baxendale, Jill Dando, Caprice and me appearing in every soap, every play, every documentary and presenting Holiday?

It'll be tough I know, but I'm prepared to rough it.

Brian Oxberry,

Monk Stray House,

Stockton Lane,

York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.