I got nerdsniped by a bloody Reddit post!
In 2015, the UK Government launched a new passport design. It immediately attracted negative press for its designers' "sexist" decision to feature more men than women.
The government has been accused of sexism over the new UK passport design, which commemorates the achievements of two women but seven men.
It's true that there are only two named women - but there is another unnamed woman on the passport! Here's the "Performing Arts" page:
Shakespeare stares down at his Wooden O. Half the page is a stage, and the men and woman merely players.
Here they are in a bit more detail:
Who are they? They look like reasonably modern photos rather than portraits. They're not obviously famous. None of the press at the time mentioned who they were. No stock photography library had anything similar that I could see. Your favourite AI thought one of them was Doctor Who and the other a Congressman from Nantucket.
The official document describing the design simply says:
On the left hand side there is an image of the interior of the theatre, with a play in progress.
I scanned in an old passport to get the faces in as much detail as possible. All three of them look like jobbing actors who you probably saw in a schools' production of Twelfth Night, don't they?
I couldn't find anything about them online. I asked my investigative-minded friends but they drew a blank.
I even sent a Freedom of Information request to the Passport Office.
They refused on grounds of GDPR, but they did say:
However, we can disclose the photographs of the individuals appearing on the passport page captured by a photographer employed by a supplier contracted to HM Passport Office.
So, if you're one of the actors / models - or know who they are - please drop a note in the box below!
