He may not be advertising ITV Digital any more but Johnny Vegas has clearly made an impact in government circles - even without his knitted monkey sidekick.
The Guinness-swilling comedian may seem an unlikely champion of healthy eating practices, but Vegas has agreed to front a new campaign aimed at preventing food poisoning.
Although ITV Digital is now facing bankruptcy, the company's advertising campaign enjoyed huge cult success and helped transform Vegas into a national star.
Now the European Union is hoping to use his popularity among young people to promote food hygiene practices such as washing your hands before preparing food.
Vegas has recorded a series of TV ads for a new EU-funded campaign aimed at tackling the growing number of cases of food poisoning.
He is also fronting good2eat.info, a new website that offers practical advice and tips on dos and don'ts in food preparation.
The campaign is backed by the food standards agency, which recently began a five-year programme to cut cases of food poisoning by 20% by 2006.
An estimated 5.5 million people a year suffer from food poisoning, mostly as a result of eating in a restaurant, cafe, takeaway or fast food outlet.
The FSA recently launched a TV campaign to raise awareness of food hygiene among Britain's restaurant workers.
Latest statistics reveal 118,555 restaurants and catering premises broke food safety rules in the 12 months up to July last year.
