Fleabag’s Andrew Scott reveals the refreshing reason you can’t find him on Instagram

Fleabag and Sherlock actor Andrew Scott has opened up on a new podcast, talking about his upbringing, fame and social media. 

We are a nation obsessed with Andrew Scott. Although many fans know him best from his Sherlock days, Scott’s profile went stratospheric after his turn as Hot Priest in Fleabag. 

Starring alongside his friend Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the pair delivered one of the most discussed and celebrated TV series in recent years. They also caused record sales of Marks & Spencer cans of gin and tonic thanks to that scene where they first share a drink.

Speaking about this obsession with Scott’s role on Saturday Night Live last week, Waller-Bridge said: “I call the character Priest in the script, but everyone started calling him Hot Priest. Obviously Andrew is hot, but this Priest character caused such a horn storm.

“Andrew and I were trying to figure out what it was about him that was driving women so mental. And we boiled it down and realised, it was because he was doing this one thing. Listening. Really, really listening. Try it guys.”

Yep, they might just have hit the nail on the head there.

As Scott is set to seduce us once more in a new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, the interest surrounding him is only going to rise at the same rate as his stardom. 

With this in mind, it’s worth noting that Scott remains absent on social media. 

The actor has now spoken out about his decision to stay off Instagram in a new interview – and it is incredibly refreshing to hear at a time when everyone seems to have a digital identity.

Speaking to Reggie Yates on Belstaff’s The Road Less Travelled podcast, Scott said: “Do I really need to be on Instagram? Do I really want to be? Do I want to be on this TV show to hike up my profile? No.”

He continued to explain: “The big lesson I’ve learned is what is of genuine value. And value, I don’t think is based on numbers – I think it’s based on what’s that going to give to my time on earth with my loved ones.”

In the interview, which airs on Monday 28 October, Scott also explored his feeling towards his Catholic upbringing.

Scott attended a Catholic boys’ school while growing up and he has spoken about the “damage” the Catholic Church inflicted on him when he was younger. He also said it took “a long time to find my voice.” But he has since liberated himself from the deep-rooted shame around his sexuality, and started to use his platform to tackle societal injustice.

Speaking to Yates about the love and support he found at home and from friends, he said: “The great gift I was given was that I had to reveal who I was at a young age and every person in my life said ‘I love you’, getting that affirmation quite early on in my life was a really a wonderful gift.”

Scott is one of the great guests on The Road Less Travelled podcast, who also include The Devil Wears Prada’s Stanley Tucci, Moonlight’s Naomie Harris and Sex Education’s Emma Mackie. The first episode with Tucci is available to stream on Apple Podcasts and Spotify now, with new episodes being released weekly. 

Images: Getty, BBC

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