The Times obituary

John Hewer, the actor who as Captain Birdseye established the humble fish finger as the nation's teatime favourite, has died aged 86, Hannah Strange writes.

Hewer, who played the jolly naval captain in the Birds Eye fish finger commercials from 1967 until the late 1980s, passed away on Sunday, it emerged today. He died at Brinsworth House, the actors' retirement home in Middlesex, where he was a resident.

A bearded, grandfatherly figure aimed primarily at children, Captain Birdseye outlasted both the Milky Bar Kid and Ronald MacDonald to become one of the longest running brand personalities in the history of food advertising.

With the now-famous slogan "Only the best for the Captain's table," the character enticed generations of children in Britain and around the world to eat fish in the form of a stick, a product pioneered by Birdseye and launched in 1955.

But his 20-year reign almost wasn’t to be. In 1971 he was killed off by Birdseye, which placed the following notice in The Times announcements section:

“Birdseye, Captain. On June 7th, 1971, after long exposure, life just slipped through his fingers. Celebrity and gourmet. Mourned by Sea-Cook Jim and the Commodore, in recognition of his selfless devotion to the nutritional needs of the nation’s children.”

Three years later, however, with its market share dwindling due to competition and rising prices resulting from the Cod Wars, Birdseye decided to resurrect the character. The Captain’s return to duty was announced on July 22, 1974 with this notice, also in The Times:

“Birdseye, Captain. Now returned to the shores, a revitalised man. All faculties intact. Wishes to deny premature reports of his demise previously recorded in these columns. Will shortly address the nation reaffirming that his fingers are the ones.”

Captain Birdseye soon reaffirmed his place in the hearts of the world's children and in 1983 was named in a poll as the most recognisable captain on the planet after Captain Cook.

The ruddy-cheeked seaman proved excellent fodder for comedians over the years, with the Goodies parodying the commercials as “Captain Fishface” and Radio 1 playing spoof adverts featuring “Captain Fishy, the man with the fishy fingers.”

After two decades in the role, Hewer was dropped once again, this time for a younger man. Believing that a snowy-haired pensioner was less appealing to children, Captain Birdseye was transformed into a suave, Timothy Dalton-esque thirtysomething with designer stubble. But the makeover proved unpopular, and the older, cuddlier version was brought back, though this time not played by Hewer.

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