Related Articles
WITH miles of beautiful coastline, Cornwall is the ultimate ‘staycation’ destination, known for its sea, sand, surfing… and for having the least sexy accent in the world, apparently.
That’s according to a recent survey, which concluded ‘Queen’s English’ to be the ‘sexiest’ dialect and put the Cornish accent at the bottom of the pile.
13
In the experiment, online dating website eHarmony asked respondents to listen to a sentence read by speakers with 20 distinct accents and rate each one on how much they associated them with 10 different character traits.
And while the Cornish twang was judged least ‘attractive,’ it did receive points for sense of humour.
But while the accent has come under fire, Cornwall has been home to some serious talent, including Hollywood stars Thandie Newton and Kristin Scott Thomas, as well as This Morning presenter Philip Schofield, who grew up in Penzance.
Here we take a look at just some of the reasons why the West Country doesn’t deserve such a negative rep…
Raunchy sex scenes & naked romps
Irish Poldark pinup Aidan Turner’s raunchy, sex-filled TV series really thrust Cornwall – and its accent – into the spotlight.
13
Eleanor Tomlinson, who played fiery red head Demelza, revealed she took learning the accent very seriously, and studied the differences in speech between the modern day and 18th century Cornwall in a bid to make it as realistic as possible.
But while she threw herself into nailing the accent, one area she admits not taking too seriously were the sex scenes, saying: “Sex scenes with Aidan are hilarious, but I don’t look forward to ADR’ing [additional dialogue recording] those – where you have to re-record every breath and squeak you’ve made.
“It’s so awkward with sex scenes.”
13
‘Hunk and disorderly’
It’s not just fictional Cornish characters that are responsible for making hearts race.
While many of us are attracted to uniforms, Devon and Cornwall police force have gone one step further, as they can boast they have “Britain’s sexiest police officer” within their ranks.
13
Jim Colwell, who was last year promoted to Assistant Chief Constable, was bombarded with filthy requests from women who wanted to be arrested when he first got promoted in 2016 and his photo was posted on social media.
“All of a sudden I’m feeling very naughty,” one local wrote, while another commented: “He can use his handcuffs on me any day.”
He’s not the only local police officer who’s attracted attention – PC Alice Nicholas, from St Blazey, Cornwall, swapped her truncheon for a tiara when she was crowned Miss Cornwall in 2012.
She entered the competition to inspire other young girls to join the force.
Fellow service worker Charlotte Tonks, 26, who works as a paramedic won the title last year, proving the county has the hottest emergency service force in the UK.
13
13
Sun, sea and… Surfing
Cornwall is famous for it’s beaches and as a result is home to some of the nation’s best surfers.
And with abs of steel and sun-kissed skin, it’s no surprise many of them also dip their toes in the modelling world.
13
Professional surfer and three times British champion Alan Stokes, now 39, was six when he received his first lesson from Fistral Beach Surf School, and growing up in Cornwall made him fall in love with the sport.
It’s a passion he shares with his stunning surfer and artist wife, Philly, and as well as winning titles, his sun-bleached hair and impressive six pack has also helped to win him a fair few extra admirers.
His good looks have landed him modelling deals with Boss and Animal.
13
Joss Ash, from Bude, is another very successful Cornish-grown surfer and model, who’s fronted campaigns for the likes of Barbour, Sainsbury’s and Debenhams.
When asked if it’s true surfers get all the girls, he told The Daily Mail: “It seems that lots of surfers have girlfriends!
“But I put it down to beach life, it’s social, you’ll be just quite fit doing it, doing something natural – girls must like that.”
Of course, the sport of surfing doesn’t just involve men.
13
Love Island star Lucie Donlan also hails from Newquay, and is a keen surfer and model.
The blonde beauty, who is now dating fellow Love Islander Luke Mabbott, has spent lockdown in her hometown posting an array of sexy snaps of her hitting the beach.
Tassy Swallow, from St Ives, is another big player in the surf world.
Tassy has represented Great Britain multiple times at surfing competitions, and now owns her own Surf Club in her hometown.
Model and surfer Corinne Evans also calls surf capital Newquay home, and spends as much time as she can on the beach, juggling this with modelling and working with companies such as Jack Wills, Animal, British Airways and Ford.
13
13
Over-achieving Olympians
And when it comes to sports stars, it’s not just surfers who hail from the West Country.
Sailor and five-times Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie grew up in Falmouth, where he learned to surf with his dad, and was once hailed one of Britain’s ‘sexiest’ Olympian men.
13
13
For Olympic gold medallist rower Helen Glover, from Penzance, her home county were so proud of her achievements, the Royal Mail post box on Quay Street in Penzance was painted gold in her honour, and when she gave birth to twins earlier this year, she gave one of their names a Cornish twist, by including the town name, Newlyn.
HOT STUFF
Celeb chefs’ tasty homes – including Jamie’s £9m pad & Gino’s Sardinian getaway
WAGATHA WAR
From Danielle to Piers & Robbie – who’s on whose side in the Coleen v Becky war
‘QUITE A PUZZLE’
How 2 women solved mystery Bear Brook killings that baffled cops for 30yrs
WELL JEL
We’re most jealous women in UK – banning men from lads’ trips & tracking phones
While the Cornish accent might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there’s no doubt that the county has produced some of the sexiest stars on the planet.
