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Jameela Jamil believes US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey would “never have made it in the UK” due to the comparative lack of diversity in the British entertainment industry.
The English actress and broadcaster, 34, said that the scene in the UK was the reason she moved to the US. “I remember coming to America five years ago and seeing (black US broadcaster) Robin Roberts hosting Good Morning America and knowing that Oprah is a really big deal (in the US). Oprah would never have made it in the UK,” she said.
Jamil, who made the comments in a new interview with Playboy magazine, added: “We’re still behind in giving women important jobs that lead to long standing, dignified careers, the rest of us either get pushed out or get pushed into being nothing more than sex objects, whether we want that or not.
“I couldn’t believe that I was seeing women in their fifties and sixties of different races on the biggest shows on US television. That was a big moment,” she added.
The Good Place actress began her career as a host of Channel 4/E4’s youth-focused programme T4, which ran from 1998-2012. She went on to be the first solo female presenter of The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1.
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