An excellent example of a regional character in recent years is Gemma Collins, whose accent and appearance have marked her out as the archetypical “Essex Girl”; a slur that she successfully ...

Dr Cole, a lecturer at the University of Essex, says there is a "hierarchy of accents" in the UK, with accents from industrialised urban areas like Glasgow and Birmingham often seen as low status.

According to linguistics expert Dr Amanda Cole, of the University of Essex, the distinctive accent has changed the way people speak across the UK from Reading to Glasgow. More surprisingly ...

Cambridge University researchers found that people from Belfast were best at detecting someone imitating their accent. But people from London and Essex were the worst at detecting fakes ...

Essex University linguist Dr Amanda Cole has linked the gradual changes to the accent migrating from its traditional London roots to the surrounding Home Counties. She said: “It was less Queen ...

Students at Westcliff High School for Girls have appeared on The One Show to discuss the pressures they feel due to the negative stereotypes linked to the Essex accent. On Tuesday night ...

In fact, the lecturer, who is from east London and grew up in Essex, says she herself has changed the way she talks. "I've modified my accent down a lot," she says. "I've had people call in on ...