Art Attack's Neil Buchanan has released a statement in response to wild rumours that he is anonymous street artist, Banksy.
Over the weekend, rumours over Banksy's identity took a rather odd turn when one Twitter user suggested kids' entertainer Neil was in fact the street artist.
Now, after an influx of enquiries, Neil has had to publish a statement on his website to set the record straight. Spoiler - he's not Banksy.
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"Neil Buchanan is NOT Banksy," it began.
"PLEASE NOTE: We have been inundated with enquiries over the weekend regarding the current social media story.
"Unfortunately this website does not have the infrastructure to answer all these enquiries individually, however we can confirm that there is no truth in the rumour whatsoever.
"Neil spent Lockdown with vulnerable members of his family and is now preparing to launch his new art collection in 2021. Thank you and please stay safe."
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Well that settles that!
The rumours began when one Twitter user tweeted: "Just heard that it's rumoured Neil Buchanan is Banksy. If true, it's the funniest s**t ever. Aintree's finest.
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"He's a musician and art has followed in the cities of shows he's done allegedly. This is straight in the believe without question category."
The theory is that Neil's band has performed in a number of locations where Banksy's art work was also discovered.
Other Twitter users later took to the post to agree that 58-year-old Neil could well be the mysterious artist, whose work has popped up all over the world.
One person even said they had seen Banksy around 20 years ago, but admitted she wouldn't be able to identify him now.
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"In the late nineties/early noughties, someone pointed Banksy out to me at the Notting Hill Arts Club. I also saw him doing a stencil outside my flat in Hoxton at around the same time (hood up). Could I pick him out of a line-up? Absolutely not," they wrote.
But this seemed to spur the original poster on more, who replied: "So you wouldn't deny that it's Neil even though you've seen Banksy?? This is big."
Another added: "They say not to believe everything you read online but I 100% believe this. Don't even need to look up the cities for confirmation. Neil is Banksy, Banksy is Neil."
Sadly, it looks like there is absolutely no truth to the claims. The mystery continues!
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