TETLEY'S tea folk are up the spout after bosses axed them from their TV adverts.

The tea folk have been the face of Tetley since 1973.

But yesterday, bosses at the company, which was taken over by Indian tea company Tata Tea two years ago, branded the tea folk outdated as they launched a new advertising campaign.

It is feared the Tetley tea folk - Gaffer, Sydney, Archie, Clarence, Tina, Maurice and Norman - may now be considered too old-fashioned for the modern tea drinker.

The Northern Echo reported in August that Tetley, which has its main production site at Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, was considering a new image, and the unveiling of the advert ends months of speculation about the tea folk's future.

The flat-cap stereotype is seen as insulting to Northerners and unappealing to affluent young Southerners.

Now the tea folk may have to take their own advice - put their feet up, sit back and enjoy the delights of a simple cup of tea.

But Tetley chiefs are not ruling out the return of the tea folk - they are calling it a "break" from service.

The slick new £15m advertising campaign, directed by the man responsible for the BBC's Perfect Day advert, features a host of real people living life to the full.

Nigel Holland, Tetley's marketing director, said: "Tea has been fronted by animation and animals for years, but we feel tea is crying out for some passion and a new lease of life."

He added: "The tea folk have worked extremely well for us, but as the new ad campaign aims to get people to reappraise tea and what it can do, we decided to give Gaffer and the team a break to go out and live life to the full."