Find out who are the most popular UK celebs on the world’s overnight sensation – Twitter.
Love it or hate it, everybody’s heard of Twitter unless they’ve been living under a very heavy and opaque rock. The biggest Twitter news a few months back was that Stephen Fry had entered the Twitter building. As presenters and UK celebs on Twitter go, he is probably number one on the guest list or rather anyone’s tweet list. But he’s not the only noteworthy celebrity on the social media scene; John Cleese of Fawlty Tower’s fame and celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver also tweet regularly.
Public controversy
The Daily Mail recently wrote about celebs publishing mundane details on Twitter. The public response was heated. One civilian enthused about the presence of well-loved British comedians on the site. “It’s the little things in life which are the most amusing and charming. I follow both John Cleese and Stephen Fry, and the things they say about mustard and kiwis make my day a little happier”, Bec said. In contrast, Nicola’s scathing comment about Twitter was, “Just goes to show what drives most celebrities, not passion or dedication to their jobs, just the need for constant attention and personal validation”.
And constant attention and validation is exactly what they’re getting. Currently, Stephen Fry has half a million followers. His enormous following on Twitter is probably owing to the fact that his wit translates so well to micro blogging. One of his recent tweets was surprisingly from the top of Big Ben: “OMG the treat of a lifetime. Up the clocktower and standing right next to Big Ben for the noonday strike. Utter blissikins. Wonderful”. And it’s hard to label someone who uses the phrase ‘blissikins’ as a self-serving narcissist.
One of Fry’s frequent guests on the popular talk show, QI (Quite Interesting) is TV Presenter and three time BAFTA award winner, Jonathan Ross. He is a close second to Fry at 300 000 followers. Those who enjoy the insignificant details of celebs lives will enjoy learning that Ross has a mystifying passion for cheddar. In a recent tweet in June, he shared, “Have slight lower back pain. Do you think cheddar will help or nurofen? My head says nurofen, my heart wants cheese”.
Ross, who was suspended from the BBC for three months as a result of prank calls, told the public last Christmas: “I broke wind with such force that my wife is on the verge of tears”.
3. The Parrot is DEAD, not the man
Coming in third for most popular UK celeb is one of Fry’s ‘followers’ on Twitter, John Cleese, who is famed for tweeting, “Thank you everyone for the messages. Remember I am practically dead, barely functional. Your patience is appreciated. Will blog again soon”. His following on Twitter currently stands at 186,806 and counting.
It seems British TV personalities enjoy talking about food. In December last year, Cleese tweeted, “Yes to marmite, but an even bigger yes to mustard, particular German mustard of which I have an epicurean collection”.
4. Oliver: Please, we want some more
Adored TV chef presenter and restaurant owner, Jamie Oliver has over 100, 000 followers. Among the people Oliver follows on Twitter in turn are American celebs, David Letterman and Matt Damon. From recent tweets, it seems that at the moment Oliver is very involved with a crew of youngsters who he is training up as part of his charity youth programme at his restaurant called ‘Fifteen Cornwall’.
As far as chefs on Twitter go, they impart cooking advice or even recipes for their followers. Oliver was recorded as tweeting, “Yeah! Great guys, go for it! Get involved, talk about pork, cook different cuts, buy British! The recipes are there. And pledge pledge pledge”. You can just imagine hearing his glottal stops as you read his tweets.
Recently, ‘the 140 character recipe’ has become popular on Twitter; celeb chefs and other aspiring twitters have started posting up quick recipes, all the way from starters through to desserts.
If you’re starting as a small time celeb, Twitter is one way you can become more well-known and it’s where to go to start networking with the right people. Just remember that if that mundane aspects of your life aren’t amusing or strangely fascinating to other people as well, leave them out.
Tags: chef presenters, twitter
