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Kate Winslet's school denies claims that teacher told her to settle for 'fat girl parts'
A spokeswoman for the actress now says that the comments - which Winslet said were made to her when she was 14 - were made at a drama workshop in London
Having just picked up the third Bafta in what was already a glittering career, Kate Winslet’s post-awards press conference should have been a moment to bask in her acting achievements.
But instead, the British actress, who scooped the best supporting actress gong for her role in Steve Jobs, the biopic of the Apple founder, left herself – and her former school – embroiled in controversy, after claiming that as a young woman she had once been told to “settle for the fat girl parts”.
Ms Winslet, 40, dedicated her Bafta award for best supporting actress to women who have been the subject of criticism. “When I was 14, I was told by a drama teacher that I might do OK if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts,” she said after Sunday night’s ceremony.
“So what I always feel in these moments is that any young woman who has ever been put down by a teacher, by a friend, by even a parent, just don’t listen to any of it, because that’s what I did – I kept on going and I overcame my fears and got over my insecurities.”
After a day of speculation, in which teachers at Winslet’s former school were forced to deny uttering the cruel remark, the star’s spokeswoman eventually disclosed last night that the alleged comments were made at an independent drama workshop in London.
The actress attended Redroofs theatre school in Maidenhead, Berks, from the age of 11 to 16, but her head teacher dismissed the notion that any member of staff would have said that to a pupil.
June Rose, 85, who founded Redroofs and taught Ms Winslet speech and drama classes, told The Telegraph: “I’ve never heard that comment before and I would assume if a teacher said something like that to a young pupil, they would immediately tell their parents and the parent would be straight onto the school.
“She would surely have complained to us. I can’t imagine anyone would say that to a child. I would take a very dim view of somebody who said that.”
Ms Rose said that when Ms Winslet was around that age she had won roles in many productions, including Alice in Wonderland and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. She said she played Wendy in Peter Pan and took the lead in a play about the Falklands War.
“They are hardly roles for a child who is going to be hard to cast,” she added.
“She was never fat actually, but doesn’t every child think they are too fat or too thin at that age? She wasn’t skinny, let’s say, but she was certainly not fat.
“She did very well with us, she was head girl and we are delighted with what she has achieved. This just doesn’t make sense. I’m sure she does remember who this teacher was and I personally would be very interested to know.”
Ms Winslet did also attend the Starmaker theatre school in Reading, of which she is now patron, at evenings and weekends from the age of 10 to 15.
But Michelle Palin, the manager, noted that they do not employ teachers but have visiting directors who take turns helming a specific production. “We never refer to them as drama teachers,” she said.
Ms Winslet, who won her third Bafta for her role as Apple employee Joanna Hoffman in the Steve Jobs biopic, has spoken previously about being bullied about her weight at Redroofs, where she says she was nicknamed “Blubber”.
“I was chubby, always had big feet, the wrong shoes, bad hair. There was one girl who was horrible to me,” she said last year.
Carolyn Keston, Ms Winslet’s former dance teacher and Ms Bloom’s daughter, was once quoted as saying: “She was not grossly overweight, but she was chunky.
“She did not have what you might call a dancer's body and, because she and the other girls spent most of the time in leotards, she could not help but be aware of it. Her weight used to go up and down like a yo-yo.”
She also once said: “She wasn't fabulously good-looking, but we always thought she was an extremely good actress. We made her head girl because she was a natural leader, and sensible.”
Ms Keston did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
The star's publicist said: "I can now clarify that this did not happen at Redroofs Theatre school. It occurred during an independent drama workshop over a summer in London."