Britons want Sir David Attenborough on new £20 note instead of JMW Turner

New version of note due to come into circulation in 2020

The veteran broadcaster came out well ahead of Prince Charles and JK Rowling (PA)

Sir David Attenborough has come out on top on a list of “ethical champions” Britons would like to see featured on the next £20 note, a survey has revealed.

Forty per cent of 2,128 people surveyed in the poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of Good Money Week said Sir David was their first choice, choosing the veteran broadcaster over Richard Branson, Stella McCartney and Jamie Oliver.

Prince Charles was a distant second choice, earning just 7 per cent of support, while Harry Potter writer JK Rowling won the approval of 4 per cent of those polled.

Human rights activist Anita Roddick, who died in 2007, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby also received honourable mentions, earning 3 per cent of the vote respectively. Nearly a third of voters said they could not make up their minds on who to choose.

The poll, conducted last month, asked participants to name the person they would most like to see featured on the new banknote from a list 15 “ethical champions” that would “remind the public to be ethical in how they spend their money”.

The results have been released to coincide with Good Money Week, which runs between 8-14 October and promotes making “ethical money choices” in daily spending.

A new version of the £20 note is due to come into circulation in 2020.

However, JMW Turner, celebrated as one of Britain’s greatest painters, is already slated to be the face of the new note, following a nationwide vote.

An online petition supported by Good Money Week has been created asking the Bank of England to reconsider its choice and to “break with tradition” by celebrating the more recent efforts of a British hero on a banknote.

“Maybe it’s about time we became a lot more up to date by using people that have done an awful lot for the world and the planet,” one person who signed the petition, which currently has 175 signatures, wrote.

“I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to honour such a conservationist,” another said.

“It’s no surprise that Sir David Attenborough came out top in this poll,” said Charlene Cranny, programme manager at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association.

“With his endless conservation work, he would act as a constant reminder to the public to make ‘ethical’ money choices, which is what Good Money Week – now in its 10th year – aims to do.

“It’s particularly important this year as the workplace pension comes into full force and millions of pounds could be chosen to be invested ethically if people were aware of their choices.”

Additional reporting by PA