Victoria Beckham has become the latest celebrity to have ditched her regional accent for a new posh tone.
The Spice Girl, 48, recently uploaded a makeup tutorial and while her 30million followers gushed over her skills, it was her clipped English accent that really got fans chattering.
However she’s far from the first star to leave their original regional twang behind for a proper posh voice.
The star’s change in accent is reminiscent of Ellie Goulding, who grew up on a council estate in Hereford, and admitted she was so embarrassed by her accent that she trained herself to speak differently.
Meanwhile Newcastle-born actress Donna Air baffled This Morning viewers after speaking with a ‘posh’ accent during an interview with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
Here FEMAIL reveals the stars who have adopted an upper class accent after they become stars…
Victoria Beckham
Hometown: Harlow, Essex
Victoria Beckham was born in Harlow, Essex and raised in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire, earning her famous Posh Spice nickname in the early days of the band in the mid nineties
Victoria Beckham was born in Harlow, Essex and raised in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire, earning her famous Posh Spice nickname in the early days of the band in the mid nineties.
And whilst she may have shot to fame with the moniker, Victoria appeared to speak with a London accent during the early years of the band.
However this week, fans noticed her accent had changed in a bizarre Instagram video this week.
The Spice Girl uploaded a makeup tutorial using her own-brand beauty products and her voice really got fans chattering.
Viewers of the video were left baffled by the Essex-born star’s accent, pointing out: ‘I never remember her being that posh whilst in Spice Girls.’
As she demonstrated how to achieve her ‘signature smoky eye’ with the Victoria Beckham Beauty’s new eyeliner, fans were distracted by the star’s posh pronunciation.
‘I love her but I swear she didn’t always sound like this certainly not in spice girls days I know she’s posh spice but girl’: commented one follower.
‘I love her, don’t get me wrong, just never remember her being that posh whilst in spice girls,’ another agreed, whilst one other replied: ‘She never used to speak like this.’
Back in 2020 Victoria revealed she didn’t used to like her nickname, but in recent years she has been embracing the moniker which gave her a voice’ when she felt shy.
Ellie Goulding
Hometown: Hereford
Ellie Goulding grew up on a council estate in Hereford, and previously revealed she was so embarrassed by her accent that she trained herself to speak differently
Ellie Goulding grew up on a council estate in Hereford, and previously revealed she was so embarrassed by her accent that she trained herself to speak differently.
She shed it by listening to BBC newsreader Nicholas Witchell and watching period dramas.
‘I became fixated on speaking well. I felt like people just knew I was from a council house, and that I was poor, because of the way I spoke,’ she said.
Speaking to Grazia in 2014 about her influences as a child growing up in a single-parent household on a council estate, she said she was ‘obsessed’ with posh accents.
She explained: ‘I was obsessed with well-spoken people, period dramas and the news.
‘I got clued into how I could change my singing voice from Destiny’s Child to opera, so I learned I could change my speaking voice, too.’
Ellie, who described her original accent as ‘quite Bristolian’, said she now regrets perfecting her sophisticated accent.
In a 2013 interview she said: ‘I feel silly because I’m not ashamed of the Hereford accent now and it’s too late to get it back.’
Donna Air
Hometown: Newcastle
Newcastle-born actress Donna Air has baffled fans with her clipped English accent for years, including in an interview on This Morning in 2020
Newcastle-born actress Donna Air has baffled fans with her clipped English accent for years.
She sparked a backlash over the way she spoke when she appeared on Celebrity Masterchef in 2016.
Viewers claims that she’d ditched her Geordie tones for a plummy accent, because of her relationship at the time with James Middleton, younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge.
In an article for the Mail on Sunday, Donna tackled them head on, saying: ‘I’m an actress and a TV presenter: it’s my job to speak clearly, to communicate effectively on and off camera.
‘My home has been in London for 20 years now, longer than I lived in my native North East.
‘I think it would be far weirder if I sounded the same as the ten year-old Donna who starred in TV series Byker Grove asking PJ (Anthony McPartlin, now half of Ant and Dec) if he’d like to share a banana milk.’
It’s not the first time the actress has been accused of changing her accent.
Last year, This Morning viewers after she spoke with a ‘posh’ accent during an interview with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
As she spoke about her return to acting after a hiatus in reality TV and charity work, the 42-year-old’s voice sounded a lot more polished the viewers were expecting.
Social media users were quick to take to Twitter to share their confusion over the mother-of-one’s accent.
One person wrote: ‘I genuinely have zero idea what kind of accent that is Donna Air! #shesageoride.’
Another said: ‘Where’s her Geordie accent gone? You’re a Northerner stop faking that pathetic accent.’
Neil Morrissey
Hometown: Stafford
Neil Morrissey, who hails from Stafford in the West Midlands, shot to fame in the mid-1980s as dim biker Rocky in the ITV drama series Boon before securing the role of Tony in popular sitcom Men Behaving Badly
Neil Morrissey, who hails from Stafford in the West Midlands, shot to fame in the mid-1980s as dim biker Rocky in the ITV drama series Boon before securing the role of Tony in popular sitcom Men Behaving Badly.
Speaking about growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, Neil added: ‘It was a body blow for the area in the 70s and 80s when mining ended and so many pottery firms closed down.
‘I was just starting drama school at the time and could see it all happening from a distance. One thing that couldn’t ever be taken away from the people of this area is their determination and grit.
‘Midlanders are very important to the country. We’re stuck in the middle of the north/south divide and just getting on with it.’
And earlier this year, he shocked fans with his plummy tones when he appeared on BBC’s The One Show to discuss the new series of ITV’s The Good Karma Hospital.
Taking to Twitter, a number of viewers noted the change in his voice – with one even claiming Neil had ‘totally forgotten he’s from the Midlands’.
Twitter users penned: ‘Is it me, or is Neil Morrissey notably posher than he used to be?… Why is Neil Morrissey so posh?.
While another said: ‘He should be on #bombadier adverts #TheOneShow… It’s like he’s totally forgotten he’s from the Midlands… 25 years ago he didn’t even have ‘ supper”
David Beckham
Hometown: Leytonstone
David Beckham, who was born in Leytonstone, London, has developed more of a posh English accent over the years
David Beckham, who was born in Leytonstone, London, has developed more of a posh English accent over the years.
In 2013, a study done by the University of Manchester academics found that the footballer has changed his speech over the past decade to ‘sound less working class’.
The examined footage of the footballer before and after 2007, which was the year that the Beckham’s moved to Los Angeles.
The final year students studied how changing circumstances affect the way we pronounce words, under the guidance of linguistics lecturer Dr Laurel MacKenzie.
They found that David dropped his H sounds at the start of words far less often than before the move to the US.
The study suggested that the once Cockney sounding David, now speaks with a posher accent.
Charles Boorman said: ‘My guess is that his dropping of those Cockney vowels was linked to his ambassadorial role for the Olympics and his subsequent high social status.’
David and Victoria’s son Brooklyn recently also baffled fans as he switched between American and Cockney accents during an interview.
Mel C
In 2016, Mel C, who was born in Whiston, was slammed by This Morning viewers who claimed she was putting on a ‘terrible posh accent’ and ‘forgotten her roots’ during an interview
Victoria Beckham wasn’t the only Spice Girl to be accused of loosing their regional accent.
In 2016, Mel C, who was born in Whiston, was slammed by This Morning viewers who claimed she was putting on a ‘terrible posh accent’ and ‘forgotten her roots’ during an interview.
The Spice Girl’s accent was noticeably different, with her trademark Liverpudlian dialect replaced with something a lot more well spoken.
Many were confused by the singer’s accent as people said she had ditched her regional twang.
‘How posh does Mel c sound? Lost her accent big style #thismorning,’ said one viewer.
Another added that it was the ‘worst attempt at a posh accent’ they’d ever heard.
‘Her accent sounds so put on. Proper stepford wives elocution number. It sounds awful,’ another posted.
While a fourth agreed: ‘Where’s Mel C’s Scouse accent gone?’
Geri Halliwell
Hometown: North Watford
Geri Halliwell, who grew up on a council estate in North Watford, has come under fire in recent years for her plummy voice
And switching accents appears to have been a trend within the Spice Girls.
Geri Halliwell, who grew up on a council estate in North Watford, has come under fire in recent years for her plummy voice.
When she won the coveted Sport Relief apron in 2016’s Bake Off, viewers were more interested in her accent.
Geri took the Star Baker title on the BBC1 show, but Twitter users were distracted by the singer’s ‘fake posh voice’.
The star was speaking the ‘Queen’s English’ during her appearance and viewers took to Twitter to question whether she’d always has such an upper-class accent.
Viewers were less convinced by her cut-glass vowels, @PagsOfFun tweeted: ‘Since when did Geri Halliwell speak posh?’
While Kathy136 posted: ‘Am I imagining it or has Geri Halliwell developed a posh accent?’ and @FaeriBex also questioned if the former popstar was ‘always this posh.’
And Emma Kelly wrote: ‘What is going on with Geri Halliwell’s accent? That’s not the voice of the woman behind Look At Me,’ referencing Geri’s first single when she started her solo career.
Although Warren Laccohee seemed to think Geri had always been a ‘posh girl.’ He posted: ‘Daddy probably bought her place in the Spice Girls “Daddy I want to be famous.”‘