Comedian, writer and actor Peter Kay has been named the Greene King Celebrity Pub Pal of the Year for 2015.
Bolton-born Kay secured the award after a national poll asked, which British celebrity would you most like to have a drink down the pub with?
Last year’s inaugural winner, the actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry, was narrowly beaten by Kay into second place.
The third most popular suggestion this year was David Beckham, with Sir David Attenborough and Jeremy Clarkson making up the top five. Dame Judi Dench was the highest placed female suggestion in eighth place with Simon Cowell also featuring in the top ten.
The title is awarded annually by leading pub retailer and brewer Greene King and marks out Kay as Britain’s most popular celebrity today.
Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King, said: “We go to the pub with the people we most want to spend time with, so a fantasy pub pal is a good measure of the popularity of today’s celebrities.
“It also gives us a real insight into what the nation responds to and it is good to see a diverse list of characters in the top ten who, in their different ways, would all offer interesting company down the pub.
“As one of this country’s most loved comic personalities, it was not a surprise to see the irrepressible Peter Kay top our chart this year.”
Hundreds of famous names were nominated in the research with Alan Carr, Bradley Walsh, Ant and Dec, David Tennant, Paul O’Grady, Billy Connolly and Benedict Cumberbatch all featuring high on the list as popular choices.
The top ten celebrity pub pals for 2015 were:
- Peter Kay
- Stephen Fry
- David Beckham
- Sir David Attenborough
- Jeremy Clarkson
- Sir David Jason
- Simon Cowell
- Dame Judi Dench
- Keith Lemon
- James Corden