Article on 'star' was read with disbelief

LETTER - I read with disbelief the shallow article with the heading "Civic leaders hail soap's county character" in Wednesday's Shropshire Star. What absolute drivel.

Firstly, Danielle is not a star, not yet anyway, she is an actress and this is only her first role as such. Secondly, will civic leaders feel their comments true and justified if BBC script writers turn her character into a drug-taking teenager?

They should never underestimate the power of the pen in turning what could be an excellent role model and beacon for Telford into a character from hell that will stereotype Telford.

What annoyed me with the article is that we have real stars acting as fantastic ambassadors for Telford. Not people like myself, Richie Woodall or others who have excelled in their career and therefore are often in the limelight, but the silent ambassadors.

Those people who work in the community free of charge who dedicate their free time to supporting others, those who are proud to have been associated with Telford.

Like Richie Woodall I was not born in Telford but am an immigrant. Sixteen years ago I left a penthouse apartment in Munich to live here and enjoy the countryside.

Since then I have enjoyed every minute and been honoured to have met a number of these silent ambassadors. In particular, those I met during my time as mayor of Oakengates.

Maybe our civic leaders should stop making frivolous political comments to the press about what in effect is still a fictitious character and spend more time praising and supporting the ambassadors that really demonstrate the best of Telford as a community.

Steve Molyneux, Oakengates