Famous for good reason? Britain elevates do-gooders to celebrities.
| London
It was Kishan Bodalia鈥檚 weekly DJing that thrust him into the United Kingdom鈥檚 national spotlight over the past month. The resident of Birmingham, Britain鈥檚 鈥渟econd city,鈥� has performed for hundreds of thousands across the world from his kitchen.
But he probably wouldn鈥檛 have received so much national attention were it not for his full-time job: Dr. Bodalia works at an intensive care hospital ward,聽on the front line of Britain鈥檚 pandemic. His DJing 鈥� dubbed #NHSessions in a play on the acronym for the U.K.鈥檚 National Health Service, and which he performs in hospital scrubs 鈥� was originally meant to be a way for him to find solace from the health crisis.
Emeka Okorocha is in a similar situation. The accident and emergency NHS doctor has been , where he posts videos of himself聽dancing in his hazmat suit, reading out 鈥渕ean tweets鈥� sent to health care workers, or speaking out after the death of George Floyd by telling his followers, 鈥渋f you celebrate me in scrubs, don鈥檛 hate me in my hoodie.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Amid the hardships of the pandemic, Britons鈥� sense of who qualifies as a 鈥渃elebrity鈥� has expanded beyond entertainers and the gifted to encompass the altruistic and those who are helping people.
The rise of聽Dr. Bodalia and Dr. Okorocha, who have a combined following of alone, reveals a shift in who, and what, constitutes celebrity in the eyes of Britons during the pandemic. At a time when the U.K. records one of the world鈥檚 highest death tolls per capita from COVID-19, the country has been granting iconic status to those who serve communities, do public good, and raise awareness for social causes.
鈥淐elebrity is cyclical and responds to what the overarching culture wants at any given time,鈥� says Jorie Lagerway, associate professor in television studies at the University of Dublin. 鈥淭he reason we have celebrities is to tell us what鈥檚 important in our culture at that particular moment in history.鈥�
We can be heroes
The pandemic has seen Britons rallying to聽figures of accomplishment and grit in addition to those celebrities appreciated for their abilities to entertain 鈥� or sometimes simply celebrity for celebrity鈥檚 sake.
Some of these new national heroes have transcended age, color, and class, such as army veteran Capt. Sir Tom Moore, the聽centenarian who raised more than 拢39 million ($54 million) for the NHS making laps with his walker around his garden. And while Marcus Rashford is a young professional soccer player, he earned national recognition by challenging the U.K. government to provide free school meals for children in low-income households during the pandemic.
It is people like them, and a host of ordinary health care workers with burgeoning reputations on social media, who have become Britain鈥檚 biggest celebrities in the pandemic.聽
鈥淚n a crisis, we seek out slightly different types of celebrity,鈥� says Greg Jenner, historian and author of 鈥淒ead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen.鈥� Britain in lockdown, he says, has resuscitated a centuries-old version of the 鈥渃ompassionate鈥� celebrity: Think British nurses Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, venerated for their caregiving roles during the Crimean War in the 19th century.聽Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, won the nation鈥檚 hearts in the 1800s for saving victims of a shipwreck off the Northumberland coast. And as far back as the 17th century, women who fought wars pretending to be men gained notoriety.
鈥淪ome of the earliest celebrities weren鈥檛 great intellectuals, or talented writers and actors, or with a skill set, but people thrust into the limelight pretty rapidly because of something they might have done or said during a moment of crisis,鈥� says the historian.
Pandemic stardom currently hinges on doing good because the current moment calls for altruistic qualities. At a time of 鈥渉uge rhetoric around community and pulling together,鈥� says Ms. Lagerway, it 鈥渕akes sense鈥� that Captain Moore, a聽World War II soldier, became a focal point of hope. The聽centenarian became the oldest person to score a No. 1 hit single in the U.K. music charts, and wrote children鈥檚 books. Britons marked his death in February with a minute of silence and flags above Downing Street lowered to half-mast.
Similarly, Dabirul Choudhury, a Muslim聽centenarian, raised 拢420,000 ($580,000) doing laps while fasting for the month of Ramadan in lockdown, and Rajinder Singh, a 73-year-old Sikh, gained a social media following with his videos skipping rope and exercising in Britain鈥檚 isolation.
With his Caribbean heritage and lived experience of childhood hunger, Mr. Rashford鈥檚 appeal ramped up after Parliament鈥檚 rejection of school meal provisions. According to British pollster Ipsos Mori, the majority of Britons feel the soccer player has held the U.K. government to account better than both the opposition Labour Party and the media. His championing of poor people is a kind of 21st-century reincarnation of Charles Dickens, says Mr. Jenner, who calls the writer the voice for 鈥満＝谴笊� socialism鈥� in Victorian Britain.
鈥淎s an authentic person requiring help with government handouts when he was younger and as a person of color, his voice really carries and his heroism really matters. People are listening to him. No one can stop his moral argument,鈥� Mr. Jenner adds.
Health worker heroes
The NHS is celebrated across all political colors in the U.K. Decadeslong reverence for free universal health care has, perhaps, provided a foundation for the current 鈥渉eroization of health care workers.鈥� Ms. Lagerway, who is a U.S. national, says Britons鈥� celebration of their health care workers reminds her of New York in the aftermath of 9/11.
Dr. Okorocha says he is 鈥渞ecognized鈥� as opposed to being 鈥渇amous.鈥�
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 always known what doctors have done, but we didn鈥檛 sign up for such high risk work. We just had to face it; because of that, anything we did was highlighted or escalated,鈥� he says. 鈥淭rying to keep people educated, entertained, and in good spirits meant it all just blew up online.鈥�
That may be because social media stars do not fit into the classic trope of celebrity, says Mr. Jenner. 鈥淚nfluencers aren鈥檛 classic celebrities. The rules are a bit different,鈥� he says, although 鈥渋nfluencer and celebrity ... are fusing a little bit.鈥�
Both Mr. Jenner and Ms. Lagerway say social media 鈥渋nfluencers鈥� have yet to fully cross over into the world of glitzy, magazine-cover celebrity. Though increased time online spent by consumers of social media in lockdown has led to video creators finding fame online.
鈥淲hether we are seen in the public as a celebrity or [just as a social media influencer] is really another question,鈥� says Dr. Bodalia.
What is certain is that both he and Dr. Okorocha have gone beyond the realms of social media branding, and potentially reaping the rewards of real-life celebrities.
Since first going viral last year, Dr. Okorocha has produced and has a book lined up to be published. Dr. Bodalia says he now has the chance to fulfill his dream of playing music on stage at festivals this summer, to release his own music, and to 鈥渂e heard around the world.鈥�
鈥淲hen the pandemic finishes ... I鈥檒l still be DJing and making music. Just in front of as many people as I can.鈥�
