Stars Celebrate British Culture in GQ Shoot, But Opinions Vary

What is so great about Britain?

Ask some of the nation’s biggest stars and their answers range from the NHS to our unmistakable accent… and Mr Blobby.

But plenty are less upbeat: they worry about the future, blame politicians for the mess the country’s in and say opportunity is drying up.

British GQ reveals all this and more in their biggest ever issue, uniting 15 national icons for a special edition: ‘What’s So Great About Britain’.

The October edition takes ‘a deep dive into what makes this country – and the people who inhabit it – tick’.

And the Daily Mail has been given exclusive insider access to the ambitious shoot.

Actor Brian Cox, 79, posed in a classic trench coat by luxury raincoat makers Mackintosh and didn’t hold back.

‘Our National Health Service is the envy of the world, and we treat it like s***,’ he said. ‘Of course it has organisational problems and it’s been through a lot of difficulties, but it’s something that is unique to us.’

As for ‘national treasures’, the Succession star is not keen on the suggestion that one person can be more special than others – but admits that Judi Dench deserves the title.

England striker Chloe Kelly, 27, was asked to choose her ‘peak Britain’ moment: ‘The change that we [the Lionesses] made in 2022 – we were able to use our voice to make change for young girls, so that gives me hope that there’s more success to come.’

And pundit and ex-footballer Ian Wright, 61, said football itself makes him proud to be British. ‘One of the things that makes me really proud to be British is our football pyramid,’ he said.

‘We’ve got ten tiers. Sunday league, grassroots football from over 40,000 clubs. Think of what it means to the communities around the country. That makes me very proud. And we want a proper football pyramid for the women’s game as well.’

Sources tell me that the styling for the shoot was meticulous, with each star dressed as a ‘hyper-real’ version of themselves.

‘It’s a curated mix of runway fashion, British designers, and heritage brands showcasing the wonderful eccentricities of British style,’ they said.

Each star was offered seven different looks to choose from. It took two huge studio spaces to accommodate the 20 rails of shoes, hats, scarves, sunglasses, and jewellery.

Actor Andrew Garfield, 42, suited up in a Saint Laurent blazer, tie and leather trousers, poked fun at one of the country’s biggest cliches.

‘People with the British accent get away with a lot,’ he said. ‘Everyone assumes we’re smarter than we are. I’m not against that, personally.’

Meanwhile, Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg, 31, posed with armfuls of shopping bags and confessed: ‘London is up there with the greatest loves of my life.’

Singer Jade Thirlwall, 32, talked politics. Asked what she’d do as Prime Minister for a day, she said the ‘AI situation is quite crazy’ and called for laws to protect artists from its impact.

Meanwhile, actor Will Poulter spoke about what defines the nation: ‘Britain wouldn’t be what it is without the contribution of immigrants and all the people who have been able to call Britain home’.

Singer-songwriter FKA Twigs said Britain has ‘a huge plethora of stars’ who have changed the ‘landscape of the world’.

But not everyone was so upbeat. White Lotus star Jason Isaacs, 62, said he feared Britain had lost its way.

‘You know, everything isn’t about getting richer,’ he said. ‘Sometimes it’s about organising yourself better or becoming more tolerant or becoming more humble.

‘As a world power, yeah, we’ve been in decline since the 1920s. But that also means that as an exploiter of other peoples’ indigenous nations all over the world, we are in decline.’

One Day actress Ambika Mod, 29, didn’t mince her words either: ‘There’s not enough opportunity, especially for people from working-class backgrounds.

‘I have never felt more frustrated with the industry than I have in the last couple of years, especially since One Day and reaching the next level of my career. I think it’s because there just aren’t those spaces carved out.’

Heartstopper actor Joe Locke, 21, perched on a Lime Bike for the shoot, voiced his unease, too.

‘I think that the next five years will be really telling in the way our country is going to be moving forward. There’s no point in not being hopeful – but also there’s a lot of work to be done.’

Transgender activist and model Munroe Bergdorf, 38, was more forthright: ‘How politicians treat trans people is indicative of how they will eventually treat everyone,’ she said.

‘People still aren’t grasping that because they see being trans as something so different from their experience and it’s easier to create an image of something as an embodied ideology than a human being. That’s how any system of oppression thrives.’

Boxer Anthony Joshua, styled in Louis Vuitton jeans with a pigeon on his shoulder and a cup of tea in hand, turned his frustration on the Press.

‘When you feel like the country is against you and the media is against you, it’s hard for someone to feel like, “I’m going to fight for my country”,’ he said.

‘So I think they should try and get behind their athletes more. Even the s*** ones.’

Emma Thompson, 66, swathed in a giant neckerchief, declined to comment. Mr Blobby, however, had a simple one-word answer to what gave him hope: ‘Blobby.’

The timing of the cover is striking. Its release comes just after a weekend of chaos in London: more than 110,000 anti-migrant activists marched in a rally named Unite the Kingdom, fronted by hard-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Violence broke out with counter-protesters gathered in Whitehall and Elon Musk even beamed in by video link to lament the ‘erosion of Britain’. The Met Police reported ‘significant aggression’ from demonstrators as missiles rained down on officers.

Not that those organising the GQ edition could have predicted it. The shoot, led by photographer Charlotte Rutherford has been months in the planning. It unfolded across three days earlier this year at Big Sky Studios in London. Sources say the concept for the set was a ‘quintessential British high street’ that would capture the ‘idiosyncrasies of British culture.’

Using 3D modelling, each of the 15 stars was placed into their own ‘narrative moment’ within the scene.

Adam Baidawi, British GQ’s Head of Editorial called it ‘hands-down, the craziest shoot of my career – and one of the great joys of my time at GQ so far’.

‘We knew we needed an ambitious, charming, absurd and beautiful visual statement…Thanks to our brilliant creative team, I think we’ve managed to create just that.’

The ‘What’s So Great About Britain’ special issue of GQ is available on newsstands and via digital download from 23rd September.