Vanessa Feltz has made an emotional plea on This Morning to change the rules surrounding blue plaques. During a discussion about the unveiling of a blue plaque at George Harrison’s childhood home, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary asked Vanessa who she believed deserved a blue plaque. Vanessa expressed her belief that the restrictions should be altered to allow for immediate recognition of public figures. Currently, the National Blue Plaque Scheme requires that the honoree must have been deceased for at least 20 years before an application can be made. Vanessa disagreed with this rule, stating that if public sentiment is strong enough, public figures should be able to be memorialized sooner. She specifically mentioned Paul O’Grady and Steve Wright as individuals who should be honored without delay. Vanessa’s appeal for change in these rules comes from her personal connection to these friends, whom she described as “beautiful” and “wonderful.”
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Notable Blue Plaques in London
There are over 1003 blue plaques placed around the City of London and Greater London area, with even more across the rest of the UK. Some of the notable ones include:
– Princess Diana
– Freddie Mercury
– John Lennon
– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
– Peter Cushing
– Emily Wilding Davison
– Enid Blyton
– Charlie Chaplin
– Vincent Van Gogh
– Sir Ernest Shackleton
– George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
– Ian Fleming
– Sir Isaac Newton
– Florence Nightingale
– Dylan Thomas
– Mary Shelley
This rule means people can only apply for anyone who died before 2004 and applications must be made before July 19. The scheme began in London in 1866 but was expanded across the UK in 1998 under a trial and was made permanent in 2023 under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act. Lord Byron, the poet, was the recipient of the first-ever plaque by Society of Arts in 1867 but his home was demolished in 1989. Before the scheme extended outside of London, local councils and other organizations would erect similar plaques.
There are 177 blue plaques in Camden alone, which includes ones for Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, and John Keats — Amy Winehouse will not be eligible under current rules until 2031.
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