ANDY Murray has emerged as Scotland’s favourite celebrity, easily outstripping the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, JK Rowling and Sir Sean Connery.
Polling firm YouGov asked more than 1,000 Scots to pick their favourite from a list of 16 celebrities.
Murray – after bagging his second Wimbledon title and clinching a second Olympic gold – got almost twice as many votes as his nearest rival, David Tennant.
Those surveyed were asked: “Which one, if any, of the following is your favourite Scottish celebrity?”
The man from Dunblane, Stirling, was way out in front as the most popular person amongst Scots with a whopping 17% of the vote.
Second-placed David Tennant got 10% while Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor bagged third with 8% of the vote.
JK Rowling and Sir Sean Connery were tied on 7%.
Surprisingly, despite being Britain’s most successful Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy was left languishing some way back in the vote with only 5% alongside Dundonian TV presenter, Lorraine Kelly.
It appears Scots aren’t particularly starry-eyed as the table doesn’t make good reading for Hollywood actors James McAvoy, Tilda Swinton or Robert Carlyle who all failed to gain a single vote.
Even Doctor Who actor, Peter Capaldi, failed to regsiter a vote and was left rooted to the bottom of the table alongside his fellow acting stars.
Calvin Harris got 3% of the vote overall. That figure shot up to 11% for 18-24-year-olds but plummeted to zero for over-55s.
Sir Sean Connery got 10% of the 45-54 group and only 4% of the 18-24 group.
Ben Glanville, Director at YouGov said: “As Andy Murray achieves yet more on court success, it appears as though his popularity, among Scots at least is in rude health.
“Our survey reveals that he is Scotland’s favourite celebrity, beating many other leading names from the world of music, film and literature’’
Interestingly, Murray was most popular with people aged 55 and over, where he gained 23% of their vote but least popular with those aged 34 or below, where he only won 10% of votes.
The most popular Scot for those aged between 18-24 was J.K. Rowling, who gained 14% of the vote from that age group, who grew up with the Harry Potter novels.
Susan Boyle shot to worldwide fame in 2009 with her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent but could only muster 1% of the Scottish vote whilst actress, Kelly Macdonald only received a nominal amount of votes.
There was also the option to select ‘other’, if your favourite didn’t appear on the list or you could respond ‘not applicable’, if you didn’t have one. Interestingly, 21% of those asked chose the latter option whilst 10% couldn’t find their favourite on the list.
This latest victory caps an extraordinary year Murray, who has not only won his third grand slam but also had the honour of being flag bearer for Team GB at the Olympics.
He also reached his first ever French Open final on the notoriously tricky clay surface and saw his beloved Hibs lift the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years.
Scotland’s favourite celebrity will now look to continue his successful 2016 when he attempts to win the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.
