{"id":27381,"date":"2022-12-19T12:25:31","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T11:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1753129"},"modified":"2022-12-19T14:13:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T13:13:13","slug":"hugh-quarshie-on-wealth-of-diversity-in-riches-and-almost-quitting-acting-before-holby-city","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/hugh-quarshie-on-wealth-of-diversity-in-riches-and-almost-quitting-acting-before-holby-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Hugh Quarshie on wealth of diversity in Riches and almost quitting acting before Holby City"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Laura Rutkowski\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 19 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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In a first for UK primetime television, Riches features a self-made Black British family. The Richards family are sitting on the top of multimillion hair and cosmetics empire Flair & Glory, with Stephen (Hugh Quarshie) at the head of the household.<\/p>\n

It comes time to name a successor for the family business and he must choose between the children he left behind from his first marriage \u2013 US-based Nina (Deborah Ayorinde) and Simon (Emmanuel Imani) \u2013 and his \u201cnew\u201d family in London with second wife Claudia (Sarah Niles) \u2013 Gus (Ola Orebiyi), Wanda (Nneka Okoye) and Alesha (Adeyinka Akinrinade).<\/p>\n

Written by Abby Ajayi (How to Get Away with Murder, Inventing Anna), Riches is being billed as a \u201clove letter to Black London\u201d and employs an inclusive and diverse cast and crew to represent the \u201cnouveau riche\u201d Richards family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy understanding is that often the children of the nouveau riche discard all the attitudes and moralities which they might have had before their parents became wealthy. Money can solve a lot of problems, it can buy access and fame and comfort,\u201d Quarshie says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see what happens when people like Kanye West get into making their own fashion brands; the Kardashians became famous for being famous; and Gwyneth Paltrow [has her] wellness company Goop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Adeyinka Akinrinade, Nneka Okoye, Ola Orebiyi, Sarah Niles, Deborah Ayorinde and Emmanuel Imani in Riches.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITVX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Flair & Glory represents the billion-pound Black hair and beauty industry, which \u201cgoes to the essence of what is identity, how you present yourself\u201d, says Quarshie. \u201cBlack women won\u2019t deny themselves that right \u2013 it\u2019s not a luxury, it\u2019s a necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riches is part of ITV\u2019s Diversity Acceleration Plan, which generated a 33% increase in the number of lead roles featuring Black, Asian and minority ethnic talent on ITV last year.<\/p>\n

The UK is finally catching up to the likes of US series Empire, which aired in 2015, and followed Terrence Howard\u2019s character, a music mogul who had to choose which of his three sons should take over the business.<\/p>\n