Stick a puffin in your pocket: Bank of England reveals animals to replace Churchill and other historical figures on banknotes... but why has the kingfisher missed out?

Puffins, owls, bumblebees and hedgehogs will replace historical figures including Winston Churchill on the Bank of England's next series of banknotes.

It comes after nearly half a million people took part in a controversial consultation to choose which animals to appear on Britain's paper money.

The introduction of the new notes over the next few years could give rise to cash-strapped friends asking each other to 'lend us a puffin' or if they can 'spare a hedgehog'.

It ends a tradition going back to 1970 of historical figures – starting with William Shakespeare – appearing on UK notes.

And the decision to switch to animals has prompted a major backlash with the move described a 'total bonkers' and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch complaining it was 'erasing our history'.

The four animals have been chosen after being whittled down from a shortlist of 18 announced earlier this year.

The Atlantic puffin will be included 'to celebrate the British coastline'

They will feature on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 but it has not yet been decided which. Other animals could also appear on the eventual designs. The banknote series will continue to feature a portrait of the monarch.

The month-long public consultation received 478,531 responses – the most ever for a banknote. Respondents placed 2,549,003 selections across the shortlist.

The humble buff-tailed bumblebee topped the list with 360,399 votes, more than 100,000 ahead of the European hedgehog on 256,665.

In third was the barn owl with 270,596. The Atlantic puffin with 183,137 came in sixth but was selected above more popular animals because Bank officials decided that 'the inclusion of a marine animal will add variety to the series' and 'provide an opportunity to celebrate the British coastline'.

That meant the red fox with 244,651 and the common kingfisher with 211,277 missed out.

The animals will replace the current designs featuring Winston Churchill on the £5 note, Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner on £20 and Alan Turing on the £50 note.

The Bank said it would take a number of years to design, test and print the banknotes 'to make sure they are high-quality, resilient and accessible'.

Chief cashier Victoria Cleland said: 'I am delighted that nearly half a million people responded to our wildlife imagery consultation, showing that cash still matters.

'We have chosen four distinct and inspiring animals that not only showcase the great variety of wildlife we have in the UK but will also enhance the security of our banknotes.'

The Bank has said that while the use of cash for transactions has declined over the past decade, it remains the preferred payment method for about one in seven people and is used by many more.

Cash in circulation has continued to increase, reaching £91.5 billion at the end of February 2026.

The Bank has previously run into controversy over banknote designs after campaigners complained that too few women had featured in recent years, prior to Jane Austen appearing in 2017.

History has also proved uncomfortable due to links with slavery. In 2021 the Bank removed from display a series of paintings and busts of governors and directors who had connections to the slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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