Celebrity Obsession Isn’t for Children

They may sell trashy magazines in their millions with gossip on their latest hairdo or fashion accessory, but celebrities aren’t that important to children after all according to one toy company’s research.

When school children were asked to pick the most important people in Britain, celebrities ranked significantly lower than royals and politicians, with showbiz mogul Simon Cowell getting less than half as many votes as David Cameron.

The research among 650 UK school children, conducted for a toy company by leading child research experts ChildWise, showed despite the panic over the burgeoning celebrity culture Ant and Dec were important to only 21 percent of children and chart topper Harry Styles just 13 per cent. Daniel Radcliffe has lost his magic, only receiving 8 per cent of votes.

It isn’t great news for David Beckham either who ranked lower than Boris Johnson with 13 per cent of the votes versus 14 per cent. Cheryl Cole was important to just 11 per cent of children. Brit winner Adele gets just 6 per cent of votes and Victoria Beckham trails in last with only 4 per cent.

John McDonnell, Managing Director of Galt Toys commented: “Children aren’t as frivolous as adults fear them to be. Our findings show it’s good news for the Royals in Jubilee year with the Queen topping the importance poll by a significant margin (91 per cent) and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in second and third place.”

The Royal family can’t rest on its laurels though as second in line to the throne Prince Charles lagged behind Prince William and the Prime Minister, coming in fifth place. Prince William got more than double the number of votes as his father.

Populist Chart

The Queen 91%

Prince William 53%

Duchess of Cambridge 48%

David Cameron 45%

Prince Charles 25%

Ant and Dec 21%

Simon Cowell 20%

Boris Johnson 14%

Harry Styles 13%

David Beckham 13%

Cheryl Cole 11%

Daniel Radcliffe 8%

Holly Willoughby 7%

Adele 6%

Victoria Beckham 4%