Nicole? No Papa, Thierry

It's bon voyage to Nicole and Papa - Arsenal's French international football star Thierry Henry is to be the new face of Renault UK's Clio advertising campaign.

The player, who is in the French World Cup squad, will front the TV ad for the first time in a break on Friday's debut Big Brother show on Channel Four. The deal is believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Henry is being brought in, according to Renault bosses, to bring a more macho image to the car. He follows in the famous footsteps of Nicole, Papa and, more recently, Helene Mahieu who featured in the Size Matters adverts and introduced the concept of Va Va Voom to British viewers.

He said: "I am delighted. Both Estelle Skornik, who played Nicole, and Helene wished me luck when they dropped by the film set.

"I hope that this ad turns out to be as popular as theirs."

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