Staines in line for rebrand to escape Ali G legacy?
Councillors in Staines are considering changing the Surrey town's name to escape arguably its most famous ever resident Ali G.
They complain that Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy creation, who proclaimed that he was part of the "Staines Massive" on his hugely-popular early-noughties TV show, put the Surrey town on the map for the wrong reasons.
Business leaders claim changing the name to Staines-on-Thames would make it more attractive to investors and shed its associations with the spoof rapper.
Colin Davis, Spelthorne Borough Council's cabinet member for economic development, said: "The ancient and honourable name of Staines has been sullied by negligent reporting by the media on one hand and perhaps irresponsible humour on the part of others such as Ali G.
"Most people don't know where Staines is. Most people don't know it's on one of the most beautiful reaches of the River Thames."
The timing of Davis's complaints will come as a surprise given that Ali G has been retired for more than five years.
According to the council the proposal is at an early stage and will be subject to public consultation.
Anne Damerell, secretary of the Staines Town Society, blasted the name change idea as "absurd" and "pretentious nonsense".
"I think if Ali G gets to hear about this, he'll have a real laugh at us doing something so silly," she said.