Tickled pink DJ finds a new calling as Percy super fan
ABRISTOL musician with an unmatched love for Percy Pigs can now cuddle a life-sized version of the iconic character.
Last year, Jonny Rhodes proved his love for the Marks & Spencer sweets was more than skin-deep, by getting Percy permanently tattooed on his leg.
Now, the 29-year-old has been enlisted to try out an entire new range of Percy Pig treats, giving them his expert nod of approval as they roll out in stores this week.
They include Percy Pig soft toys in a range of sizes, a Percy piggy bank and a 1kg jar stuffed with Percy treats.
Jonny, who lives in Montpelier, told the Post’s website Bristol Live: “I was the first person to receive them, they [M&S] sent me a huge box that had ‘top secret’ on delivered to my house.
“I found all this stuff inside and thought ‘this is amazing.’ It was so hard not to eat it all.”
Jonny’s love for Percy began when he was just four years old and has stood the test of time. His grandma used to work at M&S and would treat him to the gummy sweets from the shop where she worked, and people started buying him Percy-themed presents. He first came to the attention of the chain store last year, when he tweeted them a picture of his new tattoo.
Impressed with his commitment to the farmyard critter, M&S delivered a box of the sweets to his door and has since enlisted him as Percy Pig’s official super-fan.
Jonny rated cuddly Percy’s hugs a “10/10 for fluffy goodness”, but said he has not yet found a place to put it all.
“‘Percy Pig super fan’ is not his day job - he is a musician and one half of DJ duo Twogood, which he described as having a “funky disco house” vibe.
His fondness for Percy went national last year, after he was interviewed about his tattoo on This Morning by hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.
Asked what his mates think of his climb to fame, he said: “They think it’s amazing - it’s so crazy. I don’t really know what’s going on.”
The new Percy range started to appear in M&S stores this week. Customers can choose from a limited-edition Giant Percy Toy (£25) or mediumsized Percy (£15), standing at 90cm tall and 60cm tall respectively. The sweet jar is £15 and there is a £5 Christmas tin, with biscuits sandwiched together with Percy-flavoured filling.