Who does the UK think is humanity’s best chance against alien invaders?

Have you ever wondered who among us might be the best-equipped to defend humankind were malevolent aliens to strike Earth?

Perhaps not – but, regardless, the people have spoken. And their answers are quite something.

In a poll commissioned by UK television channel Blaze, in celebration of its “UFO Week”, the British public were asked which celebrity they viewed as offering our best chance of survival in the event of an alien invasion.

Unsurprisingly, given the extent to which the idea of marauding extra-terrestrials has captivated authors and screenwriters for decades, people were not short of ideas.

But with significant onscreen and offscreen credentials, it was Arnold Schwarzenegger who clinched the top nomination.

In our humble opinion, it appears to be something of a pleasantly sensible choice from the UK electorate – or the 2,000 of those who took part.

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Not only is Schwarzenegger renowned for his physical prowess, first rising to fame as arguably the world’s most famous bodybuilder to date, he has also had more experience of dealing with genocidally-inclined aliens than most – albeit in a Hollywood setting.

Who could forget how he emerged victorious against the eponymous Predator in the 1987 classic – also demonstrating significant outer space chops in the 1990 blockbuster Total Recall.

And if that weren’t enough, he’s even proven to have real-life leadership capabilities during his tenure as the Republican governor of California, at points showing unusual levels of political humility – for example, when he said in 2006: “How wrong I was when I said everyone has an equal opportunity to make it in America.”

Delightfully, the 73-year-old appears to be up for the challenge.

“I want to thank the people for putting their faith in me. I am ready to serve,” he tweeted in response to the poll results.

Among the other – inspired – choices were:

2. Will Smith

3. Sir David Attenborough

4. Bruce Willis

5. Tom Cruise

6. Harrison Ford

7. Sigourney Weaver

8. Donald Trump

9. Gillian Anderson

10. Nicola Sturgeon

While this might all seem rather hypothetical, it appears that some respondents may have given their answers with some sense of urgency.

According to Blaze, 27 per cent of those surveyed want the UK government to have a war or battle plan in place for a potential alien invasion, and nearly a third believe there should be a dedicated task force for dealing with extra terrestrial threats.

Furthermore, their confidence in world governments to deal with a potential alien invasion was less than inspiring, with a vast 58 per cent believing that our current leaders are unsuited to such a task.

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