Page 3 Profile: Stephen Hawking, physicist

Another incredible discovery for the world famous scientist?

Not quite. The renowned physicist, who is credited as the theorist to offer a unifying theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, is to star in Go Compare's infamous irritating adverts. He is the latest celebrity to appear in the insurance website's ads, where well-known figures plot to silence the sales slogan of Go Compare's opera singer.

So how does he bring down the terrible tenor?

The advert, which will be shown for the first time today, sees the 70-year-old author of A Brief History of Time announce to a packed lecture hall that he has discovered how to create a super-massive black hole. Hawking then asks his students what to do with his knowledge. Cut to the street outside, where Gio Compario is haranguing a couple in the street until a black hole appears behind and pulls him into the abyss. The wheelchair-bound scientist, well known for speaking with a computerised voice because of his motor neurone disease, is then shown laughing at the downfall of the tenor, played by Welsh tenor Wynne Evans.

What on earth made him do it?

Professor Hawking, director of research at Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, said: "I confess I am a fan of the Gocompare.com adverts, but I am also an opera fan, so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to help save the nation and silence Gio. I hope the public find it as funny as I did."