From Olympians to Love Island stars: How did famous candidates do in the local elections?
Local councillors are usually obscure figures, passionate local activists hoping to improve their areas or ambitious party loyalists wanting to climb the electoral ladder.
But among the thousands of councillors who stood across the country on Thursday, a few names stood out.
From Olympians to former Love Island stars, The Independent looks at whether celebrity power helped the candidates over the line in one of the most unpredictable sets of local elections in British history.
Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Petrov, the son of an ex-Aston Villa and Bulgaria captain of the same name, stood for Reform UK.
The son of Bulgaria's most capped player, he hoped to represent Nigel Farage 's party in Lapworth & West Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
But he was beaten by the Green Party candidate, who got almost twice as many votes.
James Cracknell
James Cracknell stood for a seat on Oxfordshire County Council.
The double Olympic gold medal-winning rower represented the Conservatives in Henley, having previously attempted to become the area's MP.
Awarded an OBE for 'services to sport' in the 2005 New Year Honours list, he promised to help the area 'get its buzz back'.
But he came second to a candidate from Henley Residents Group.
Luke Campbell
Reform UK's candidate to be the new mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire is also an Olympic gold medalist.
The boxer, who won gold at the London 2012 Olympics, said Hull and East Yorkshire has 'given me everything' and that he now wants to fight for the region in return.
He was elected by a clear margin, winning more than 10,000 more votes than his nearest rival.
Ollie Williams
The Love Island star hoped to strike it lucky with voters and win a Reform UK seat on Cornwall council.
Ollie Williams appeared on the ITV dating show in 2020, but left after just three days claiming he had feelings for another woman.
The 29-year-old sparked fury among viewers as photos emerged of him posing beside dead animals, leading to suggestions he was 'trophy hunting'.
He has avoided the limelight in the years since his appearance on the ITV show, but stood for Reform in the Lostwithiel and Lanreath ward, claiming 'freedom of speech and society has been eroded for far too long and it's time to act'.
He was defeated by the Lib Dem candidate Sarah Preece.
Arron Banks
Self-styled 'Brexit bad boy' Arron Banks co-founded the Leave.EU campaign alongside now Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice.
The long-standing Farage supporter ran to become the West of England mayor for his party.
Announcing his candidacy at Reform's local election launch in Birmingham, he called on people to 'vote Banksy for Bristol'. As well as being close to Mr Farage, Mr Banks has a history of ties to Donald Trump and was pictured with him after the US Presidential election in 2016. He has cited Mr Trump's success as being the result of connecting with voters on an emotional level.
Mr Banks and Mr Farage drew the interest of Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Mr Banks described the investigation as a 'witch hunt'.
Mr Banks also made headlines after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016. At the time, he commissioned a controversial poll on whether her murder had affected public opinion on voting.
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Scottish Sun
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