Man adopted cockney accent by watching EastEnders - to "get ahead" in work in UK
- 17 days ago
A man born in Zimbabwe says he purposefully adopted a cockney accent after watching British soaps to "get ahead" at work.
Andre Bellodi, 40, said he watched EastEnders every day to hone a separate east London accent to use at work after moving from Zimbabwe to the UK as a teen.
But at home and with family, Andre reverts back to his natural Zimbabwean accent.
Though Andre's first language is English, he says he found his accent was preventing him from securing job opportunities.
He harnessed his cockney twang on TikTok, where he delivers sermons on spirituality, natural remedies and health to his 100k followers.
Andre, from Barnet, North London, said: "It was a barrier, but when I changed my accent 10 years ago I started getting job offers."
Andre says he was convinced to change his accent by his mum, Alice, 59, who had also altered her pronunciation and told him: "You need to speak like them so they understand."
While Alice enjoyed watching EastEnders, Andre joined in purely for education purposes.
He said: "My mum enjoyed it but I didn’t, I was watching it for study."
Andre has three daughters - aged 14, three, and 10 months, as well as a five-year-old son - all of whom were raised in London and speak with British accents.
At first, Andre felt anxious practising his accent in public, but watching EastEnders and observing locals allowed him to slowly master the speed, tone and idioms.
He said: "It was strange at first, I thought: 'Are they going to catch me out? Do they think I’m genuine?'"
Andre described the Zimbabwean accent as similar to South African in its measured delivery, rolling Rs and deliberate pronunciation.
He said: "We pronounce our Rs, we pronounce all the syllables - it is like the way the Queen spoke English."
Though Andre says he has become "proficient" in the Cockney accent, but it still "takes a bit of effort" and he tends to speak in his natural intonation at home.
He said: "At home and with family, when I am comfortable I still revert back."
When he does speak in his natural accent, he said his girlfriend, Jess, 37, is baffled.
Andre works full time as an influencer called Andre Zen, operating on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Through the handle 'thezen.one', Andre describes himself as a "psychic friend" and a "seasoned Master Alchemist", earning money through subscriptions to his community and one-on-one sessions.
Andre Bellodi, 40, said he watched EastEnders every day to hone a separate east London accent to use at work after moving from Zimbabwe to the UK as a teen.
But at home and with family, Andre reverts back to his natural Zimbabwean accent.
Though Andre's first language is English, he says he found his accent was preventing him from securing job opportunities.
He harnessed his cockney twang on TikTok, where he delivers sermons on spirituality, natural remedies and health to his 100k followers.
Andre, from Barnet, North London, said: "It was a barrier, but when I changed my accent 10 years ago I started getting job offers."
Andre says he was convinced to change his accent by his mum, Alice, 59, who had also altered her pronunciation and told him: "You need to speak like them so they understand."
While Alice enjoyed watching EastEnders, Andre joined in purely for education purposes.
He said: "My mum enjoyed it but I didn’t, I was watching it for study."
Andre has three daughters - aged 14, three, and 10 months, as well as a five-year-old son - all of whom were raised in London and speak with British accents.
At first, Andre felt anxious practising his accent in public, but watching EastEnders and observing locals allowed him to slowly master the speed, tone and idioms.
He said: "It was strange at first, I thought: 'Are they going to catch me out? Do they think I’m genuine?'"
Andre described the Zimbabwean accent as similar to South African in its measured delivery, rolling Rs and deliberate pronunciation.
He said: "We pronounce our Rs, we pronounce all the syllables - it is like the way the Queen spoke English."
Though Andre says he has become "proficient" in the Cockney accent, but it still "takes a bit of effort" and he tends to speak in his natural intonation at home.
He said: "At home and with family, when I am comfortable I still revert back."
When he does speak in his natural accent, he said his girlfriend, Jess, 37, is baffled.
Andre works full time as an influencer called Andre Zen, operating on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Through the handle 'thezen.one', Andre describes himself as a "psychic friend" and a "seasoned Master Alchemist", earning money through subscriptions to his community and one-on-one sessions.