Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted June 7, 2004 Alex Kingston, the 41-year-old British actress who plays Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER, is being axed from the hospital drama because she is "too old". The star launched a stinging attack on the show's producers after she was told her seven-year, £81,000 an episode, rolling contract was not being renewed. Kingston claimed she was being dropped to make way for younger actresses such as 28-year-old Parminder Nagra, the Bend It Like Beckham star who joined the cast last year. "I suddenly felt very old surrounded by these young twentysomethings. Does it mean that I'm the geriatric that's being pushed out because she's too old?" Kingston said in an interview with the Radio Times. "[The show] definitely seems to be taking a different tone. I understand it needs to keep reinventing itself in order to keep going, and apparently I, according to the producers, the writers, am part of the old fogeys who are no longer interesting. In that respect it's a shame," she added. "It's fine to have young med students, but you need to have figures of authority, people of different ages, races, shapes and sizes. The actress, who has been in the medical soap since 1997, said she had feared getting the axe for the past two years. "I was patently aware that, this last season, I was being used less and less, and also that my contract was up this year. "So there was a point where I had to find out what was going on, and that was when the producers said they would no longer renew my contract. It was a shock and obviously upsetting, but it's just your ego that's upset. Then I got over it. "Once I knew what their intentions were, it was easier to deal with it, because two years of not knowing what was going on was not very nice and I wouldn't wish it on anyone." Kingston, who spent much of her early career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before landing a role of Adele in Peter Greenaway's 1989 film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, said her £2.3m annual salary may have also played a part in the decision. "I don't think any of the American networks knew how phenomenally successful Friends and ER would ever be and the power that those actors could command. But in today's climate, I think it's going the other way. Studios and producers make their contracts watertight and are much tough in negotiating," she said. "I'm sure there must have been some financial feelings behind the decision not to renew my contract. I know for a fact that the newcomers aren't getting much at all." Once married to Ralph Fiennes, Kingston said she was not yet sure how she would be written out of the show. "I had an idea of what was going to happen and it was something I firmly rejected. They were planning to get me involved with yet another man, and I'm already juggling two," she explained. In the interview Kingston said she had decided not to look for another role in a US soap "because there's an enormous amount of crap about because they have so many stations". Instead, she said she would be returning to the UK to make an independent British film and develop a TV show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cerebus Report post Posted June 7, 2004 Good. I despised her shrill, irritating, and generally bland character the instant she set foot on the show (apparently, the actress is as condescending as the character she plays). In fact, the only reason her character has lasted this long at all was b/c the writers decided to put her and Dr. Green together due, most likely, to some drug induced hallucination. Good bye Dr. Corday and fuck you for all the memories. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fairtoflair7 0 Report post Posted June 7, 2004 Kingston claimed she was being dropped to make way for younger actresses such as 28-year-old Parminder Nagra, the Bend It Like Beckham star who joined the cast last year. Great...Make way for great acting and enthusiasm.....Way to put more spotlight on another bland character....ridiculous Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2004 She's been useless ever since Dr. Greene died so good riddance says I. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2004 She was back on that show?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Retro Rob Report post Posted June 8, 2004 She never left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2004 How about they axe the entire show. It's not the same since Dr. Ross and Dr. Green left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2004 She never left. I thought for a while she wasn't on -- when she split up with Greene. Oh well, I didn't care about this show anyway. I always rooted for the patients, and many of the docs, to die... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2004 They did that sub-plot when she moved to the UK, and basically for about 7-8 shows ER did nothing else but slag off how bad the UK health service was, as opposed to the American one, which was very funny. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheBigSwigg 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2004 She's been useless ever since Dr. Greene died so good riddance says I. I concur. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
