But of course. Who else would you get?
James Buckley, the actor best known for playing Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners, has recorded a special – and rather serious – message for the people of Oldham.
Buckley was engaged by Oldham Council, seemingly through the actor’s Cameo page, where people can pay celebs to record video messages, to deliver a coronavirus guidelines reminder.
The thrust of the reminder was as follows: no visitors at home, don’t meet anyone you don’t live with in indoor venues, no care home visits, take extra care if you’re shielding, maintain social distancing.
Oldham Council posted the update to their Twitter feed. You can watch it below.
If you don't follow the local guidance on #Coronavirus, #Oldham could face a local lockdown so play your part in helping to save lives and preventing the spread of this virus. We ALL have a role to play 👉 https://t.co/fWEJWxfQrr
PLEASE SHARE!#Oldhamatrisk #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/P1R102cjKs
— Oldham Council (@OldhamCouncil) August 10, 2020
“Oldham council, for some reason, have decided to trust me in giving you this quite serious message,” Buckley says at the beginning of the video.
“It is tricky. It is complicated. We do keep getting told different things a lot of the time. Just stay safe,” he continues. “Wait for this thing to blow over and maybe we can all head down the Caravan Cub when the time is right.”
Some praised the video as an innovative way of restating the rules around coronavirus, with one commenter describing it as “absolute genius communication strategy”. Others were less impressed; one person commented: “This is bloody weird and uncomfortable. Even he is baffled.”
Responding to criticism from one person who described it as a “waste of Oldham Council’s money”, the council revealed that it paid £34 for Buckley to record the video, describing it as “a small part of a much wider campaign to ensure people are complying with Coronavirus guidance.”
This cost us £34 and is a small part of a much wider campaign to ensure people are complying with Coronavirus guidance. ^LM
— Oldham Council (@OldhamCouncil) August 10, 2020
