accent used by the character Christopher Foyle

Question

The accent used by the actor Michael Kitchen, who plays Christopher Foyle in the U.K. series Foyle's War, is not one of the standard "stage English" accents we often hear in the U.S.

Is this a recognized accent associated with a particular region or social class in the U.K.?

You haven't provided a link, but I just listened to a few seconds (at one minute in) in this youtube excerpt. I don't know why you'd expect Foyle to speak in a "stage English" accent (so far as I know, that sort of thing is mainly restricted to low-grade American productions). It seems to me Kitchen/Foyle just speaks in the generic RP "accent" (very slightly exaggerated, to mark him out as "careful, well-educated, and well-spoken"). — FumbleFingers, Jan 31 '14 at 13:33
I don't expect a stage English accent, but those are the ones most familiar to foreign listeners — just as with "Scottish", "New York", etc. etc. Foyle's intonation doesn't sound much like RP to me. — brannerchinese, Jan 31 '14 at 20:08
All I can say is it sure sounds like RP to me - as I say, slightly exaggerated enunciation, and speaking slightly slower than might be normal, for the sake of dramatic effect / character identity. Basically, middle class, Middle England (no hint of a regional element to my ear). Kitchen was born in Leicester, so that's probably what you'd expect. — FumbleFingers, Jan 31 '14 at 21:58

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 15 '14 at 02:35

Foyle is a steadfast, serious man -- a grammar school boy who has risen through the ranks of the police force to become a respected detective chief superintendent.

1: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/foyleswar/whoisfoyle.html The character is middle-class and has a middle-class accent: He might contend not just with spies, criminals and rogue officers but also with mistrust within his own department, some of whom feels the decidedly middle-class Foyle just doesn’t fit in.

I think the confusion is in Foyle's "softly-spoken" dialogue.

accent used by the character Christopher Foyle

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