The scandal of the disabled duck, Harry Hill and the knitted toy competition (From Croydon Guardian)

The scandal of the disabled Croydon duck, Harry Hill and the knitted toy competition

1:00pm Wednesday 17th February 2010 in News Exclusive By Harry Miller

A Facebook campaign has won a surprising victory for a disabled knitted cuddly toy in the most bizzare story this year.

Peter the Wingless Duck, from Croydon, was left spitting feathers after he was voted off K Factor, a talent show for knitted animals on Harry Hill’s TV Burp.

Each week a selection of animals parade in front of judges including knitted versions of Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole in a spoof version of the X Factor.

Those toys with a “heartbreaking back story” would earn extra sympathy from the judges.

In last Saturday’s episode on ITV, Peter was told he wouldn’t make it through by a bad tempered Knitted Cheryl Cole because he had no wings, sparking outrage from viewers and prompting dozens of complaints to ITV.

Dave Chapman, from Croydon, Peter’s “agent”, said he was furious the duck was thrown off the show.

Mr Chapman said: “Peter’s story is a very tragic and shocking tale. Peter used to sit on a shelf in the kitchen, and one day he got knocked on top of the toaster at breakfast time. His wings were so badly burned they had to be removed.

“No more wool was available to repair him, and even though his sister offered to donate a wing, he bravely decided he could carry on wingless. He’s a very inspirational character.

“We were very excited for him, we thought this was going to be his big break. We were very shocked that Knitted Cheryl Cole was so mean. We were so angry we deleted all of her songs from our iPods.

“Peter has a big heart though so he will probably forgive her.”

However, Knitted Simon Cowell caved under pressure from the 700-member Facebook campaign and the Croydon Guardian and decided to re-audition Peter, who many believed was being discriminated against because of his disability.

In a shocking twist, on this Saturday night’s show, Knitted Simon Cowell called Peter to ask him back but he was unable to answer the phone due to his lack of wings.

Watch the video and tell us what you think about Peter.