Singing Teacher Helped Awful Rickman Hit the High Notes for Sweeney Tod

D Harry Potter star Alan Rickman has his voice teacher to thank for his success in the Sweeney Todd movie musical - because he was told he sounded like he was singing through a drain pipe at drama school.

The actor didn't take after his mother, who was a celebrated soprano, and instead grew up being told he'd never make it as a singer in any capacity.

He says, "Thank God for a singing teacher is all I could say. My motherwas a phenomenal singer; she was a pure soprano... (but) sadly when I was in drama school my voice was the source of many complaints and big problems. "A lot of it is just to do with the architecture of your mouth, the sound you make.

Then it's about the muscle strength in your tongue.

The complaints were that I had very lazy diction and a spastic soft palette and my voice teacher said my voice sounded as if it was coming out of the backend of the drain pipe.

"That's how cruel drama school is and I had to learn to bring it all forward".