Joe Gilgun says working-class people are unfairly portrayed on TV

Joe Gilgun feels angry about the way working-class people are portrayed on TV.

The 36-year-old actor - who plays a petty criminal living in northern England in the comedy series \'Brassic\' - has claimed that the TV industry\'s portrayal of working-class people doesn\'t chime with his own real-life experiences.

He said: "In my experience working-class people are f***ing heroes.

"You know them young girls you see pushing babies in prams? They are not physically or mentally ready for a baby, yet there they are, and their lad\'s gone, or nine times out of 10 he has.

"Or you look at those old ladies who are all hunched over their trollies with all them shopping bags, so heavy they\'re turning their fingers white - they are f***ing heroes, dude."

Joe feels that working-class people are often portrayed as weak and lazy on TV.

But the actor has rubbished that suggestion, saying they\'re actually "happier than most".

He told the Independent: "That\'s a f***ing beast charging its way through life, against all the odds and all the adversity.

"You can\'t imagine the suffering of some of them and they still find a way to be happy, happier than most."

Joe also thinks the working-class population in the UK is more open-minded than they\'re typically given credit for.

He said: "The working classes are so open and accepting of what you are. You\'ve got your own s**t to worry about so you mind your own business."

Joe - who created \'Brassic\' - thinks it\'s important that the "struggle" doesn\'t become the defining characteristic of the demographic.

He said: "We need to stop making an issue of the issue. "If we don\'t want it to be an issue, then we need to stop f***ing making an issue out of it. Do you know what I mean?

"Like there\'s a gay guy - who gives a f***? There\'s a Muslim, playing a character who is important - not playing a f***ing Muslim. We didn\'t want to make a bloody caricature of people."