A pub manager from Nottingham is to get the face of comedian and Celebrity Juice host, Keith Lemon, tattooed onto his leg in aid of charity.
Carl Thomas, 30, assistant manager of The Horn in Hand on Goldsmith Street, which is owned by Stonegate Pub Company, invited customers, friends and even strangers via facebook to pay £1 to vote for the name of the celebrity face he should have tattooed. The stunt, dreamed up by Carl to raise funds for Prostate Cancer, has run for a month and attracted 1492 votes.
Carl had asked customers to choose between Fearne Cotton, Ricky Gervais or Keith Lemon to have imprinted on his leg for life!
The voting ended up a close run thing as a last minute frenzy put Ricky Gervais head to head with Keith Lemon. With just 7 votes between them Keith received 673 votes compared to 666 (is this a devilish joke?) for Ricky Gervais. Fearne, probably somewhat relieved if she knew, came third with 153 votes.
Keith will join the exclusive club of famous faces already etched on Carl’s skin which include Phil Collins and John Travolta on Sunday 29 April.
Speaking following the counting of the votes Carl said, “£1492 for Prostate Cancer, that’s fantastic. Thanks to everyone who voted even if their celebrity didn’t win. Everyone thinks I look like Keith Lemon, now there’s no escaping him!”
“I was gunning for Ricky Gervais to win but I’m happy with Keith. I think his face will work well as a tattoo plus he’s a Leeds lad like myself so we also share that as well as the moustache. My girlfriend will be happy it’s not Fearne, so I won’t be in the dog house! I will always see it as a permanent reminder of the good work myself and my colleagues did to raise money for a worthy cause.”
Paul Beynon, area manager for Stonegate Pub Company and Carl’s boss said, “Seriously innovative and a truly original and `fan’atical idea that has captured the imagination of many. Very well done to Carl, he should be extremely proud of himself”.