The startling new claim has been made by a TV show, which claims iconic playwright William Shakespeare may have come from east London as opposed to Warwickshire

15:56, 15 Jun 2026Updated 15:59, 15 Jun 2026

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William Shakespeare (Image: Getty Images)

William Shakespeare may have been a Cockney from east London rather than the Bard of Avon, a new TV show claims. The eyebrow-raising theory suggests the man from Warwickshire was not the same William Shakespeare who penned the world’s most famous plays.

The remarkable claims appear on TV series 'Weird Britain' based on the research of historian Graham Phillips. He believes records point to two men with the same name living very different lives.

The author says the London Shakespeare appears in documents as a struggling actor and playwright working in the capital. Meanwhile, the Stratford Shakespeare is portrayed as a wealthy grain merchant, landowner and money lender with no obvious links to the theatre.

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Stratford, on the river Avon, where Shakespeare is buried(Image: Thang To/Getty Images)

The programme claims the West Midlands fella was rich enough to buy one of the town’s biggest houses and lend out cash by the late 1590s. But records allegedly show the London Shakespeare living in rented rooms and being chased over relatively small debts.

Mr Phillips also points to the famous Shakespeare monument in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church. It now shows the playwright holding a quill and paper but an old illustration appears to show the original figure clutching a sack instead.

He argues that suggests the man was remembered as a grain dealer rather than a literary genius. Mr Phillips said: “There are many mysteries surrounding Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon.

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The research claims he descended from London(Image: Getty Images)

“Yet, there is ample evidence that a man called William Shakespeare was writing and performing plays in London.” The researcher believes the answer is simple and says they were two different men.

He even claims the playwright may have hailed from another Stratford altogether - the one in east London, just a few miles from the Globe Theatre. Mr Phillips added: “But if Shakespeare didn’t come from Stratford in Warwickshire, where did he come from?

“In the first published edition of his works, Shakespeare is associated with a place called Stratford, which is how the link to Stratford-upon-Avon began. There is, however, another Stratford in east London, just a few miles from the famous Globe Theatre.”

‘Cockney’ Shakespeare plays:

1) Two Geezers of Verona

2) The Merry Sorts of Windsor

3) The Merchant of Shoreditch

4) ‘Amlet

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