Dick Van Dyke Takes Opportunity to Apologize for MARY POPPINS Cockney Accent

Dick Van Dyke may be lauded for his all around charm in MARY POPPINS, but his cockney accent has become a subject of amusement. Now Van Dyke has jokingly expressed his thrill at being able to finally apologize.

Following the July 20th announcement that Van Dyke will be honored with BAFTA Los Angeles' Britannia Award for Excellence In Television, the actor quipped, "I appreciate this opportunity to apologize to the members of BAFTA for inflicting on them the most atrocious Cockney accent in the history of cinema."

Said BAFTA Los Angeles CEO Chantal Rickards, "We are absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to honour the iconic Dick Van Dyke at this year's British Academy Britannia Awards. We truly are in a golden age of television and we couldn't think of a better way to recognise this than by celebrating someone who was at the forefront of making it the global medium that it has become. We look forward to his acceptance speech in whatever accent he chooses on the night. We have no doubt it will be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"