Cold Feet star axed from marketing campaign

TV star James Nesbitt has been axed from a major campaign promoting Christmas shopping in Belfast, it was confirmed tonight.

Retail bosses shocked by sex and drugs allegations said they were left with no alternative but to drop him from a high-profile €236,000 promotion.

With major stores in the city desperate for a December sales surge, a special TV campaign has had to be revised because of the claims against the Ulster actor.

One City Hall insider admitted tonight: “We just felt this wasn’t the right image we wanted for Belfast.”

Trading officials held urgent talks following allegations that the father-of-two snorted cocaine during a two-month affair.

Senior chiefs at the Belfast City Council, the Visitor and Convention Bureau and the Chamber of Trade decided to edit him out of TV adverts aired in Northern Ireland.

A spokesman for the bureau said tonight: “Following recent media allegations in respect of Mr Nesbitt it has been decided to withdraw him from the current campaign for Belfast.

“Work is already advanced on a revised TV commercial which should be ready to be screened this weekend.”

Nesbitt, 37, from Broughshane, Co Antrim, is believed to be fighting to save his marriage following the reports about his private life.

The star of hit TV series Cold Feet has enjoyed huge success in recent years and is now regarded as one of Northern Ireland’s top celebrities.

With several feature films under his belt, it is believed he was targeting the lucrative US market.

But the decision to remove him from the campaign will be a new blow to the star’s army of fans in the North.

A letter confirming the decision to drop him has been sent to his agents.