Rear of the Year Award – A National PR Success, Made in Guildford

Published on: 29 Jul, 2016
Updated on: 29 Jul, 2016

Jennifer Metcalfe – Rear of the Year 2016

The “Rear of the Year” award, a Guildford-based annual competition which rates male and female celebrities’ behinds, revealed this year’s winners on Wednesday, July 27.

The competition was founded in 1972 by PR consultant Tony Edwards, who lived in Burpham at the time.

He said: “I dreamed up the idea many moons ago as a PR promotion to popularise jeans and the rest, as they say, is history.”

The 2016 titles were awarded to Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe and The Night Manager star Tom Hiddleston. Runners-up included Countdown’s Rachel Riley and ITV’s Holly Willoughby for the women’s title, and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and The Wire star Idris Elba for the men’s.

Jennifer Metcalfe – Rear of the Year 2016

Ms Metcalfe said: “From the bottom of my heart I would honestly like to say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. I would also like to thank my parents for the genetics and making this award possible.”

The competition received attention from national newspapers including the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, as well as online by outlets like VICE and TIME magazines.

The winners, who must reside in the UK, are voted for by public nomination on the Rear of the Year website. Over 10,000 votes were received between July 2015 and June 2016.

Previous winners include Graham Norton, Daniel Radcliffe, Carol Vorderman and Charlotte Church.

Founder Mr Edwards said that, in addition to ranking celebrities’ assets, the competition acts as a “firm fashion monitor.”

“The rear is an erogenous zone,” he said, “and fashion is dictated by erogenous zones.”

Mr Edwards currently lives in Ockham, a village near Guildford, and continues to run the competition.