Foster mum, 24, is the new Captain Birds Eye
AFOSTER mother from Gloucester has landed one of the most iconic roles in British advertising – as the new Captain Birds Eye.
The face of the famous fish-finger brand has until now been the domain of bearded men.
But 24-year-old Charlotte CarterDunn has become the first woman to don the captain’s hat.
The character is one of the longestrunning in the food advertising world, first appearing on British television in 1967.
‘Captain Charlotte’, who looks after two children, defeated 500 other people who entered a competition run by Birds Eye and Iceland to find a new captain.
Judges were impressed with the time and effort it took to create her entry photo, where she did an impressive impersonation of the famous seafarer, as well as for her insightful frozen food tips.
Her top tips included using frozen vegetables, splitting your freezer into sections and buying frozen barbecue food.
She said: “Frozen foods can be just as delicious as their fresh counterparts. I use a lot of frozen vegetables in cooking and notice no difference in terms of taste or texture - plus you can take the amount you need and it saves throwing away veg that’s going off.
“I freeze any leftovers from meals and at the end of the month I make ‘iffits’ for dinner - If it’s there, eat it! This means saving money, reducing food waste and making more room in my freezer for the next shop.”
Speaking about winning the opportunity to be the new Captain Birds Eye, Charlotte said: “I’m delighted to have won the competition and can’t believe I will be replacing the iconic Captain Birds Eye on packs – it’s all very surreal.”
Iceland and Birds Eye, two leading brands in frozen food, launched the competition to promote the benefits of frozen food and help families make their money go further. New research commissioned by the two frozen food giants recently revealed the extent of food waste in the UK, with over £188 million wasted nationwide every week.
Steve Challouma, UK general manager at Birds Eye, said: “We’re excited to be temporarily replacing our iconic Captain with Charlotte, who is a real champion of the benefits of using your freezer more.”
Richard Walker, managing director at Iceland, said: “We’re delighted to be featuring a real customer on packs of fish fingers to be sold in our stores, reaching families at dinner tables across the UK.”
Actor John Hewer, with his famous silver beard, held the role of Captain Birds Eye from 1967 until he retired in 1998.
The frozen food brand hit the headlines in 2018 for replacing the captain with a younger and ‘sexier’ model, Italian actor Riccardo Acerbi.
I can’t believe I will be replacing the iconic Captain Birds Eye on
packs – it’s surreal CHARLOTTE CARTER-DUNN