Mrs Merton joins chimps’ tea party

For only the second time in 40 years Brooke Bond PG Tips has dropped its chimps and invested in a celebrity for its TV advertising campaign.

Caroline Aherne, aka Mrs Merton, features in the new campaign as the rude checkout girl she first brought to the screen in BBC’s The Fast Show.

The ad was created by BMP DDB, which also used Aherne for its British Gas work. Speculation that the chimps are Equity members who withdrew their labour has been vigorously denied.