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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lisa McLoughlin

Phillip Schofield loses £1million We Buy Any Car deal to viral TikTok star

The car company has said that Phillip Schofield’s contract had come to an end

(Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Phillip Schofield’s replacement for his We Buy Any Car adverts has been seen filming new TV spots after the This Morning star was cut from his lucrative campaign deal.

Last week, it was confirmed Schofield’s contract with the brand had lapsed amid claims that he and his co-host Holly Willoughby jumped the 14-hour queue to see the Queen lying in state.

And now viral TikTok star Mufasa, real name Jeff Obeng, has been pictured filming scenes for a new advert for the car company.

In photos obtained by MailOnline, the influencer could be seen showing off his dance moves outside a We Buy Any Car branch, dressed in the same look he sported in his original viral TikTok video.

Speaking about Schofield’s replacement, a source told the Sun: “Mufasa is just what the brand needs to inject some energy into the adverts after the backlash following ‘queue-gate’.

“The hope is that a TikTok star will also appeal to a younger audience.”

Phillip Schofield was dropped from his We Buy Any Car adverts (Facebook)

Mufasa became a viral sensation after he released a video to MK’s remix of the Nightcrawlers’ 1992 hit Push The Feeling On in 2019 with his friend Hypeman.

The social media clip sees Ghana-born Mufasa, who is now based in Virginia, jumping out of his car to dance alongside it, showcasing his signature ‘Obang’ moves as his pal eggs him on.

Since going viral, his signature dance move has been seen at the Super Bowl and copied by thousands of fans, including Katy Perry and Kanye West.

We Buy Any Car isn’t Mufasa’s first brand deal, as he has previously collaborated with FootLocker as well as ASOS.

Schofield had worked with the car brand, which purchases second-hand vehicles for cash, from 2017 and starred in countless tongue-in-cheek ads.

Mufasa became a viral sensation in 2019 (TikTok/Mufasa)

In the wake of the ‘queue-gate’ scandal, We Buy Any Car was among several brands teased on social media with memes changing their branding to We Jump Any Queue.

Last week, a spokesperson for the company told MailOnline that Schofield’s absence from upcoming campaigns was mutually agreed at the beginning of 2022.

They said in a statement: “Webuyanycar and Phillip Schofield agreed earlier this year that the webuyanycar/Phillip Schofield campaign would come to an end in 2022, having worked together for over five years.

“The decision was made prior to any recent stories regarding Phillip.”

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