THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOCIAL WORKERS...

People have tied themselves in knots trying to define the ineffable qualities a social worker should possess, begging the question: just what does it take to be a great social worker?

Here are a few famous faces we think would have made fantastic additions to the sector...but sadly they got saddled with careers in music, film, and fiction instead!

MARY POPPINS

Okay, so ‘practically perfect in every way’ is about as far from our vocation as you can get, but on the plus side, our ol’ mate Mary can bring order out of chaos, stand up to the overbearing Mr Banks, and jam everything imaginable into her handbag – a top skill for any practitioner.

PHOEBE FROM FRIENDS

Phoebe is kooky, quirky, and not afraid to be different. While her day job was a masseuse, she could easily have worn a local authority lanyard instead. She was willing to stand up for the little person, give away her wedding savings, and act as a surrogate mother for her brother. But, had she been cast as a social worker, Friends would have been very different. Phoebe would have never had time for coffee at Central Perk and would instead appear every week by phone, apologising for having to work late – again.

TOM HANKS

When it comes to playing the role of a social worker, Tom Hanks is a casting director’s dream. He is never the bad guy, never the tortured genius. Either he is wading through a warzone to rescue a mother’s only surviving son, or calmly landing a passenger jet on the River Hudson. If he can do that then, perhaps he could handle social work...

ED SHEERAN

Ed may be a multi-million record selling superstar, but he also is clearly a man with a social conscience. He raised £40,000 for a charity supporting street sex-workers, he gives his clothes to charity shops, and when his restaurant closed during lockdown he continued to pay his staff in full. Not every superstar is quite so humble. Of course, being a good egg doesn’t automatically make you a great social worker, but it’s a good start.

DEL BOY

While Del’s younger brother Rodney may seem like the more obvious choice for this list (he’s liberal, caring, and usually wants no part of his older brother’s dubious schemes), if you can look past the hooky gear, we think you’ll find Del Boy has a heart of gold. When poor old Uncle Albert needed a place to live, Del Boy took him in. When Rodney’s marriage fell apart, Del put it back together again. Whenever anyone needed anything – whether it was a knocked off microwave or an ear to listen – Del Boy was there. A diamond geezer, we reckon he’d ensure his clients were always sound as a pound.

PRINCESS DIANA

What would have happened to Lady Di had she never married into royalty? That’s the question that has been knocked around the tabloids for years. We already know becoming a princess didn’t change her values, as she famously made headlines for hugging AIDs victims, taking her young sons to volunteer at homeless shelters, and - in the weeks before she died - walking among landmines while campaigning for a worldwide ban. Maybe she wouldn’t have found quite the same glamour in social work, but she would have still made a difference.