Petition launched to put Ainsley Harriott on the £20 note

This could be bigger than 'Bring Back Clarkson'

Helen Nianias
Wednesday 20 May 2015 12:17 BST
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Ainsley Harriott as best remembered - in 1996, camping it up next to some vegetables
Ainsley Harriott as best remembered - in 1996, camping it up next to some vegetables

Ainsley Harriott - who has sunk into relative obscurity since his halcyon days on Ready Steady Cook - is now being touted as a possible replacement for Adam Smith on the £20 note.

An online petition has garnered some mild interest calling for the TV chef to adorn legal tender.

"Ainsley Harriot is an oily god, it is only right he gets his glory on the £20 note," the petition's simple mission statement reads.

So far, nearly 640 people have signed the Change.org petition to replace Adam Smith - a philosopher and founder of the free-market economy - with a man best known for being able to make a meal out of limited ingredients within a short space of time.

Smith is to be replaced on the note, and the Bank of England is looking for people of significance who have worked in the visual arts. The new banknote is expected in early 2016, and the Bank of England will invite the public to suggest people to replace Smith up until July 16. Whether many people will think a risotto counts as a work of art is up for debate.

The Harriott petition comes after Stephen Fry backed the campaign to pardon the men, and announced his own campaign to get Turing put on the £10 note. Speaking in January, Fry said the campaign would gather pace after the General Election.

It's a shame the petition misspells the word "Harriott", though...

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