The Brummie comic's most recent success is the police spoof The Detectives, in which he co-stars with Robert Powell.

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The children of Somalis growing up in Birmingham speak Brummie, not some Somali inflected version of English.

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An automated phone system has been taken out by Birmingham city council because it did not recognise the Brummie accent, a councillor has said.

BBC: Brummie accent baffles automated phone service

But younger presenters including the BBC's Brummie Adrian Chiles and Welsh Huw Edwards have not had to go all Chumley -Warner to get ahead in the game.

BBC: By BBC News Online's Liz Doig

The Brummie accent, a nasal drone that suggests despondency to anyone outside Birmingham who is lucky enough to hear it, is also spreading as its speakers move west into Wales, where it threatens to snuff out the melodic local lilt.

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