Paddy Stevenson discovered Captain Birds Eye’s change in rank (Picture: Mercury Press)

Captain Birds Eye has secretly been demoted to a lieutenant, according to an eagle-eyed military historian.

Paddy Stevenson reckons the frozen food mascot might have been ‘court marshalled’ after he spotted a tiny detail in a recent Birds Eye outfit.

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It showed the captain with just two stripes from his uniform, indicating a lower rank than his prestigious ‘captain’ title suggests.

Paddy, 51, wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter to the company calling for Captain Birds Eye to be returned to his proper rank.


He said: ‘I was just watching the advert and I’m a bit of a military buff. I thought ‘what’s going on?’

The captain is wearing a lieutenant’s uniform in this advert (Picture: Mercury Press)

Paddy even took to Birds Eye’s Facebook page to voice his concerns (Picture: Mercury Press)

‘Because I’m into war games, the change in the number of stripes stuck out. I think this oversight is absolutely appalling.



‘On their website, the toy has just two stripes but on one of their animated adverts, he only has one. I thought it was a bit strange. It looks like he’s been demoted.’

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The father-of-one from Wylam, Northumberland, said he is even considering boycotting the company and missing out on his beloved fish finger sandwiches.

He added: ‘I wanted to ask them if they could reinstate him to his full captaincy or let the public know what he had done to deserve it. Has the Captain been court-marshalled?

‘If they have demoted him for no reason, I’ll have to buy my fish fingers elsewhere.

He may need to get his fish fingers from elsewhere (Picture: Mercury Press)

‘I’ve been following the Captain since the 70s when I was a child. He has been a beacon and role model for me since then.’

A spokesperson for Birds Eye said: ‘Paddy, it’s clear the Captain can’t sail anything past you – he does regularly alternate his uniform.

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‘Why? Well, Captain Birds Eye isn’t one to brag about his sailing feats (only his freshly caught fish!).

‘Living a life on the seven seas takes the Captain to places far away from home and, to keep himself grounded, he often chooses to wear his humble beginnings on his sleeve, quite literally.

‘At the captain’s table there is no ranking. As a modest leader, he opts for a more approachable day-to-day look, wearing his lieutenant’s uniform with pride to reassure his fellow comrades that you don’t need stripes to enjoy good fish.’