Captain Birds Eye is a woman for the first time in 50 years
There are few people who won’t know the famous Captain Birds Eye.
But you might not recognise him these days - with the iconic character being replaced by a woman for the first time in 50 years.
Captain Birds Eye first appeared on the company’s packaging in 1967 and has been played by a series of men through the years.
But now 24-year-old Charlotte Carter-Dunn has beaten hundreds of people in a nationwide competition by the brand to find a new captain and will temporarily occupy the recognisable branding as ‘Captain Charlotte’.
Fish fingers remain popular in the UK, with a report in 2016 finding that they were making a comeback as people ditch meat.
Carter-Dunn, from Gloucestershire, impressed judges with her ideas on how to use frozen food while caring for two foster children and even created her own entry photo of her doing an impersonation of the famous seafarer.
She 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.
“As a foster carer, meal times can be a little hectic but shopping frozen helps me to cut back on the food we waste and have easy meals on the table in no time.
“My freezer has been even more of a godsend during lockdown as it’s enabled us to reduce our shopping trips.
“I hope that sharing my frozen hacks will help other families get the most out of their freezer.”
The competition saw Birds Eye team up with Iceland to promote the benefits of frozen food and help families make their money go further.
Steve Challouma, from 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.
“Frozen food has never been more relevant and important to the average household, as shown by the invaluable tips sent in by some of the Britain's savviest shoppers.
“Saving money and reducing food waste are just two of the many benefits to using frozen food, something we’ve long been passionate about.”
Richard Walker, from 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 Britain.
“We know that there are millions of ‘tea time captains’ who shop with us every week, all of whom are experts in keeping weekly grocery bills down and reducing waste in the kitchen.
“More and more families are waking up to the benefits of frozen food and Charlotte is a great advocate for switching and saving.”
