Some of Britain’s top stars including Brian Cox, Imelda Staunton and Simon Pegg are taking to the streets of London this afternoon in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA cause.
Succession star Cox is due to address the Equity-led rally alongside Catastrophe‘s Rob Delaney and BAFTA-winner Rakie Ayola.
Other high-profile stars in attendance include Harry Potter star Stauton, Mission Impossible’s Pegg, Naomie Harris (No Time to Die) and Downton Abbey actors Jim Carter and Penelope Wilton. More are expected as the afternoon rolls on.
Rallies are taking place in both London’s Leicester Square and Manchester’s Media City – where the BBC and ITV house their northern HQs – and were organized by UK actors union Equity to show support.
The union has been clear it will “stand in unwavering solidarity” with SAG-AFTRA since the strike was called but UK anti-trade union laws state that “SAG-AFTRA members currently working under an Equity UK collective bargaining agreement should continue to report to work.”
Speaking to Deadline on the eve of the rally, Equity General Secretary Paul Fleming said “we are not going to have the UK used as a backdoor to undermine SAG-AFTRA’s dispute.”
Fleming is also attending the London rally alongside figures from the wider UK trade union movement and Labour Party politician John McDonnell, who used to be the opposition’s Shadow Chancellor. We’ll be updating from the event throughout.