From Olympians to Love Island stars:The famous face standing in the local elections in your area

A host of famous names will appear on ballot papers across the country as voters go to the polls on Thursday

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 standing across the country on Thursday, a few names stand out.

From Olympians to ousted ex-MPs, The Independent looks at how the main parties are hoping star power will help their candidates over the line in one of the most unpredictable sets of local elections in British history.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is fielding several celebrity candidates (PA Wire)

Stiliyan Petrov

Stiliyan Petrov, the son of an ex-Aston Villa and Bulgaria captain of the same name, is standing for Reform UK in the May local elections.

His father is Bulgaria’s most capped player and he hopes to represent Nigel Farage’s party in Lapworth & West Kenilworth, Warwickshire.

The premier league player’s son (Facebook/Reform UK)

“I decided to stand for election because I think it’s time the working-class people and the youth of this country have a voice that’ll actually represent them,” the ex-professional footballer’s son said.

James Cracknell

James Cracknell is standing for a seat on Oxfordshire County Council.

The double Olympic gold medal-winning rower is standing as a Conservative for Henley, having previously attempted to become the area’s MP.

James Cracknell won Olympic gold with Great Britain (Phil Noble/PA) (PA Archive)

He was awarded an OBE for “services to sport” in the 2005 New Year Honours list and is promising to help Henley “get its buzz back”, according to the local Conservatives.

As a rower, he has made holding water companies to account over river cleanliness a key issue he is fighting on.

Luke Campbell

Reform UK’s candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election is also an Olympic gold medalist.

The boxer is swapping his gloves for the chance to represent the region as the first head of the new combined authority.

London 2012 gold medallist Luke Campbell is standing for Reform (PA Archive)

He is the favourite to win, according to a recent More in Common poll, in what promises to be one of the closest results of the night as Reform, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Labour all stand a chance.

Mr Campbell, 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.

Ollie Williams

The Love Island star is hoping to strike it lucky with voters and win a Reform UK seat on Cornwall council.

Thousands signed a petition to have Ollie Williams booted from Love Island

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 is now standing for Reform in the Lostwithiel and Lanreath ward.

“Our freedom of speech and society has been eroded for far too long and it’s time to act,” he declared.

Arron Banks was pictured alongside Donald Trump and Nigel Farage in 2016

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 is now running 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 close ties 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 tragic 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.