Aldi launches Cuthbert the Caterpillar plush toy

The character was taken away by police in handcuffs in the supermarket’s Christmas advert

Aldi has launched a plush toy of its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake, which had a starring role in the supermarket’s annual Christmas advert this year.

In the advert, which features footballer Marcus Rashford as a radish and Kevin the Carrot with his entire family, viewers meet a new character in the Aldi-verse, Ebanana Scrooge.

In the teaser, viewers were introduced to Scrooge as a young fruit who has his festive spirit crushed after Santa Claus chose a mince pie instead of him to consume on Christmas day.

The full advert follows a classic Christmas Carol storyline, showing Ebanana as an older, rotten banana who is “stuck in his ways” but is visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Kevin the Carrot in pyjamas and a white beard), who takes him on a journey to find the true meaning of Christmas.

There are numerous highlights in the advert, such as the introduction of Marcus “Radishford” who is “always helping children”.

But one character stuck out at the very start. When Ebanana is first introduced, fans spotted Cuthbert being hauled away in handcuffs by police.

“Cuthbert the Caterpillar getting arrested in the @AldiUK advert is the best thing about Christmas this year so far! I love it!!” tweeted one person, while others used the hashtag “#FreeCuthbert”.

Now, Aldi has chosen to release a soft toy version of Cuthbert, available from 25 November for £3.99.

The scene in the Christmas advert is a reference to Aldi’s legal battle with Marks & Spencer earlier this year after the discount supermarket was taken to the High Court over its popular dessert.

In the claim, M&S, which makes the well-known Colin the Caterpillar cake, says Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake infringes its trademark.

M&S has lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court in an effort to protect Colin.

In response to the news, Aldi’s social media team poked fun at the situation on Twitter, labelling the court case #FreeCuthbert in a series of tweets.

The first tweet read: “This is not just any court case, this is... #FreeCuthbert.”