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Downing Street lies vacant at Madame Tussauds

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Press Trust of India London
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron's 150,000 pounds wax work at Madame Tussauds here has been moved into the archives leaving the space of the Downing Street replica empty.

As a reflection of some of the post-Brexit turmoil in the UK, the museum confirmed this week that the fake No 10 door will remain without representation as the world-famous wax museum has traditionally only featured elected prime ministers.

"Asa result of Theresa May succeeding David Cameron as Prime Minister, Cameron's MadameTussaudsfigure has been removed from the World Leaders area of the London attraction," Nicole Fenner, spokesperson for Madame Tussauds, told PTI.
 

"As to whether we'll be creating a figure of Theresa May - traditionally, we haven't featured likenessesof unelected Prime Ministers.However, it is still early days in May's administration,butif, as it appears, she remainsPrime Minister for the foreseeable future,wewill review this policy and potentially fill the vacancy outside No 10," she said.

May entered Downing Street last month after Cameron had stepped down as Prime Minister on June 24 - the day the result of a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union (EU) was announced in favour of leaving the economic bloc.

Former London mayor Boris Johnson, the star campaigner for Brexit and newly-appointed foreign secretary in Mrs May's Cabinet, has survived the upheaval by keeping his spot at the wax museum at London's Baker Street.

Meanwhile, Cameron likeness, which cost around 150,000 pounds to create, will remain in the attraction'sarchive where the 132-year-old museum keeps all of the moulds, heads and hands of every figure ever made.

The Downing Street set is part of a wider "World Leaders" display, which most recently welcomed Narendra Modi to its collection.

"His figure has been extremely popular with guests since being launched earlier this year in April," the museum spokesperson said in reference to the Indian Prime Minister.

Modi, dressed in a kurta and jacket with hands joined in namaste, stands besides present day leaders Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Francoise Holland, as well as political heavyweights of the past like Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill.

The heads of US presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are already prepared so the election winner can be installed in November.

"#WaxClinton or #WaxTrump? Only one will be inaugurated @MadameTussauds. We'll find out on Election Day - November 8, 2016," the museum said in a tweet this week.

Madame Tussauds has featured elected world leaders ever since it was founded as a travelling show in 1802 by French artist Marie Grosholtz.

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First Published: Aug 02 2016 | 7:42 PM IST

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