2020's Most Popular Celebrity With Schoolkids is... harder to determine than in most years.
You see, as part of my Comic Art Masterclass, which I usually spend about 100 days a year taking to schools and libraries around the country (and the world), I draw a demonstration strip on the board and I get the kids to suggest a celebrity to star in it (all part of keeping them engaged and entertained). I take four nominations from the room, then we have a knockout show of hands and end up with the favourite who I then draw. This celeb then gets a subtle mention on the front cover I draw, also from their suggestions (the example above had Barack Obama as guest celeb, you can probably see).
However 2020 is not like other years. So, though the first two and a half months were choc full of classes from Glasgow to London, South Wales to Yorkshire, The Lake District to Cambridgeshire, that all stopped in the middle of March when lockdown began.
At the end of June an enterprising school arranged my first ever classes on Zoom, since which time I've done classes for groups as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Massachusetts, Australia, and Kinshasa, as well as slightly more local schools from Berwick On Tweed to Reading (and one visit to a real school in Coventry).
The bottom line, for this particular survey, is that I've done far fewer classes than a normal year, so we don't have as many results to choose from, as you'll see in the comparison with previous years. Nevertheless the results are totted up and here's who the kids named:
Chosen once:
Amanda Holden
Ant McPartlin
Barack Obama
Bill Gates
Bob Ross
Charli D’Amelio
Chris Hemsworth
Cleopatra (yes, that one)
David Attenborough
Eddie Murphy
Elvis Presley
Gordon Ramsay
Harry Potter
James Bond
James Charles
Jennifer Aniston
Jesy Nelson
John Barrowman
Justin Bieber
Kanye West
Kevin Hart
Kim Jong Un
Kim Nam Joon
Kobe Bryant
Lady Gaga
Lazer Beam
Marti Pellow (kid had just been in panto with him)
Michael McIntyre
Miranda Hart
Neymar
Simon Cowell
Stan Lee
4th Place - Chosen twice
Billie Eilish
Dwayne Johnson
Lewis Capaldi
3rd Place - Chosen three times
Boris Johnson
Kim Kardashian
Michael Jackson (3rd place 2019, chosen 8 times in 2018, 12 in 2015)
The Queen
Robert Downey Jr
Runner up - Chosen seven times
Ariana Grande (runner up in 2019 too)
Winner - Chosen eight times
Donald Trump
Donald Trump has been the winner of the kids choice for five years in a row. In 2019 he was chosen 16 times, 2018 30, 2017 42, 2016 25. Before that he'd been chosen twice in 2015 and never mentioned before that. It is a delight to have this clear measure of his novelty having worn off.
No-shows this year included David Walliams (chosen 5 times in 2019), Ed Sheeran (4 in 19), Ronaldo and Beyonce, and long gone are the days when Simon Cowell used to top the chart. He was chosen 5 times in 2019, but 20 times in 2016).
Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres - AND NOW ONLINE VIA ZOOM. email for details. His debut graphic novels Findlay Macbeth , The Prince Of Denmark Street and The Midsummer Night's Dream Team are available on Amazon. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here.
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