Katie Price to Liz Truss - famous effigies burned on Bonfire Night

The Edenbridge Bonfire Society are famous for burning famous celebrities on Bonfire Night. This year, Oasis have falling victim, thanks to their Ticketmaster scandal that saw fans left out of pocket as ticket prices soared

Oasis are going to be top of the pyre at the famous Edenbridge Bonfire Night celebration on November 5 this year. The Edenbridge Bonfire Society have created an effigy combining Ticketmaster and the Gallagher brothers, following the band’s ticket debacle over their reunion tour.

Measuring 11 metres tall, the brothers have been turned into puppets being manoeuvred by a man in a suit, with soaring ticket prices printed all over his clothes. The wads of cash seen falling from the pockets depict how many fans were left feeling when they were unable to bag themselves tickets when they went on sale in August.

Some fans paid high prices on Ticketmaster due to the introduction of dynamic pricing, which meant costs increased amid the huge demand. And fans who did pay the high ticket price may now lose them, as they could be recalled and sold at a lower price following the uproar.

But the Gallagher brothers are not the only celebrities to fall victim to having their effigies burned at the stake. Here, we take a look at some of the famous names that have found their effigies thrown on the bonfire over the years...

Katie Price

In 2009, Katie Price - who has been making headlines this week after announcing the 'birth' of her twin reborn dolls - was unveiled as the famous effigy to be burnt at the Edenbridge Bonfire Society. The 27ft-tall firework-filled effigy went up in flames in front of more than 10,000 people.

Dressed in a low-cut pink top, she was seen wearing her white jodhpurs and riding boots. In one hand, she holds copies of mags and newspapers and in the other she grasps by their hair the heads of ex-husbands Peter Andre and cage fighter Alex Reid.

Organiser Charles Laver said at the time: "There wasn't anybody else in the frame apart from Jordan. We didn't want to do Nick Griffin because we felt he had had too much publicity already.

"Also, we are not a political organisation, we do this just for the fun of it and we didn't want to aggravate people too much by choosing someone like Nick. I'm pleased with the result and I'm sure others will be too."

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney also fell victim to the organisation in 2010, with the 49ft creation, full of fireworks, being the centrepiece at the parade and display. The Shrek-inspired effigy was seen clutching a five-year contract under the footballer's arm, with a holdall of cash in his other hand.

Rooney signed a new deal with his club just months prior to the effigy, having previously said he intended to leave.

Charles Laver said Rooney had been chosen after he made front page news over allegations about his private life and his loyalty to Manchester United. He said: "I hate football myself so I'm quite happy to burn a footballer."

Liz Truss

An effigy of the former prime minister Liz Truss with a laughing lettuce was unveiled at Edenbridge in 2022. The 11-metre high effigy featured a lettuce on Truss’s shoulder, which is crying with laughter, referring to a livestream of a lettuce run by the Daily Star that correctly predicted the vegetable would last longer than Truss did in office.

The figure of Truss clutched a cardboard box containing a goodbye card, a copy of Guinness World Records in reference to her record as the shortest-serving prime minister, a copy of her mini-budget, a “make Britain great again” red cap, a T-shirt with the slogan “I am a fighter, not a quitter” and a cheque for £115,000 in reference to the perpetual funding provided to ex-prime ministers.

Boris Johnson

Liz Truss was not the first politician to be named as the effigy of choice, with Boris Johnson falling victim in 2018. The bonfire society said Boris was chosen "as a result of his continuing habit to be in the news and his never-ending gaffes".

The 11-metre effigy of Boris, painted by artist Andrea Dean, features Hawaiian-style shorts, mismatched socks and red Brexit buses for his feet. The rosette on the effigy marks the society's 90th year. Chairman Bill Cummings said: "Our message to Mr Johnson is that you cannot have your cake and eat it." He said he hoped Boris would take it in "good spirit".

Harvey Weinstein

Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein burned in 2017. The organisers said they selected Weinstein, who was at the centre of a sexual harassment scandal at the time, because of "allegations of outrageous and despicable conduct” against him.

A spokeswoman for Edenbridge Bonfire Society said at the time: “As with last year there were many strong contenders for this year’s celebrity guy, particularly in the political and cultural world. However, Weinstein was the obvious option due to allegations of outrageous and despicable conduct, which we at Edenbridge Bonfire Society obviously found completely abhorrent.

“While the burning of the guys is aimed as a light-hearted way to mark the traditional bonfire night celebrations in the UK, there is of course nothing funny about Weinstein’s behaviour, so it seemed only fair that he gets his comeuppance in effigy form."