Hugh Bonneville apologises to disgruntled authors after he joked that he's only writing a children's book because 'TV stars are contractually obliged to do so' as he admits he doesn't have any ideas o

Hugh Bonneville has apologised to disgruntled literary figures after he joked about his new career as a children's book author. He had flippantly remarked that 'TV stars are contractually obliged to do ' as he admitted he doesn't have any ideas of his own' The actor, 60, best known for his roles in Downton Abbey and Paddington, told BBC Radio 2: 'Anybody who's been on telly now has it in their contract that they have to write a children's book. Hugh Bonneville has been forced to apologise after making flippant remarks about being 'contractually obligated' to write a children's book The actor, best known for his roles in Downton Abbey and Paddington, told BBC Radio 2 that his decision to write a children's book was simply fulfilling what he jokingly referred to as a celebrity 'obligation' 'How nice it must be to put minimal effort into something guaranteed to be a success,' one book awards judge wrote. The father-of-one added: 'A couple of illustrators have suggested ideas, and it helps the writing, because I don't have any ideas' His comments were met with swift backlash from both established authors and the wider literary community, many of whom felt his remarks trivialised the hard work and dedication required to write for children In response to the backlash, Mr Bonneville - who wrote his 2022 memoir Playing Under the Piano - issued an apology on X 'Please don't blame Radio 2 for my flippant comment, which was in no way meant to denigrate full-time authors,' he wrote. Many in the publishing world voiced frustration over what they saw as a growing sense of entitlement among celebrity writers Whilst children's author Dan Smith said: ‘What the hell?