WORLD-RENOWNED actor Kate Winslet has welcomed the new Banksy mural on Reading Gaol.
The star, who grew up in the town, hopes it will raise further support for the ongoing campaign to turn the site into an arts hub.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Winslet said it was “incredible” that Banksy had chosen Reading for his latest piece.
“I felt incredibly excited for Reading to have a Banksy,” she said. “It adds to the legacy of what [the gaol] building really could become if Reading had a legacy space like that, to hand on to generation after generation.”
The award-winning actor said she hopes the mural will benefit any residents interested in pursuing the arts.
As a youngster, Ms Winslet was a pupil at Woodley’s Starmaker youth theatre — and she has not forgotten her roots.
“I learnt how to act in Reading at drama clubs that were held in a variety of scout halls and church halls and school gymnasiums,” she explained.
In 2009, as the actor accepted an Oscar award, she told the world her mother, Sally, had won The Retreat pub’s annual pickled onion competition in Reading.
Now, Ms Winslet said if the campaign to save Reading Goal is successful, she might even make an appearance on the opening night.
Her show of support has been welcomed by Reading East MP Matt Rodda, one of the leading lights in the drive to save the gaol.
“I am delighted that Kate Winslet has announced that she is supporting the campaign,” Mr Rodda said. “Our whole community is very grateful for her support, which could make a significant difference.
“Ms Winslet has also made some important points about the potential of the gaol and the importance of arts and heritage to local people.”
Campaigners want to turn the site, which is currently empty, into an arts and heritage centre.
It was put up for sale by the Ministry of Justice in 2015, and residents have been trying to prevent any development since.
The push to save Reading Gaol previously received a number of other celebrity endorsements, including from Natalie Dormer, famous for her role as Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, and Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The mural appeared on the walls of the gaol on Monday, March 1, in the midst of the ongoing campaign. It was confirmed as a genuine Banksy piece last Thursday.
The artwork features a prisoner escaping via a traditional rope ladder, made of bedsheets.
It is thought to be a nod to the gaol’s most famous inmate, Oscar Wilde, because it is weighed down by a typewriter.
