Demand soars for tattoos of unexpected Wallace and Gromit character following Oscar nomination

Just weeks after the Christmas release of Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, fans are rushing to tattoo shops to get one rather unexpected character inked on their bodies.

The claymation film follows the story of one of Wallace's inventions, a gnome, becoming a little too lifelike, and the ever-menacing Feathers McGraw could be the one behind it. 21 million viewers later, and the film is up for a gong at this year's Oscars - the fourth Oscar the series has been up for over the years.

"We didn't make the film for this and it still comes as incredible to be counted up there," says Wallace and Gromit creator, Nick Park.

And it would seem the voiceless penguin has left a lasting impact, because social media is rife with photos of people's tattoos commemorating the evil genius.

BBC

Feathers first appeared in the Wallace and Gromit series in The Wrong Trousers in 1993, which won an Oscar.

Faith Garvie, a 33-year-old tattoo artist at Black Moon Tattoo Studio in Liverpool, said she had done "six Feathers" in the past week alone.

"I've been brought to tears a couple of times because people have been so positively impacted by the tattoos", she says.

Garvie thinks so many people have started getting the nostalgic character inked on them "because they grew up with the characters or their family grew up with them".

She added: "One guy came in and got his first tattoo, it was of the Feathers wanted poster. He was the dad of two teenagers and said he had really wanted the tattoo since lockdown, so that was really lovely."

Social media seems to be loving them too - with some posts of people's Feather McGraw tattoos racking up thousands of likes.

Some fans were embracing his evil side.

While others captured him in his sweetest form.

His popularity shows no signs of slowing down.

Thankfully, Ben Whitehead, who voices Wallace, says there's "no end in sight" for the series.

And he's truly cemented his place as a TV icon.

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