Who Voices Kevin the Carrot in the Aldi Adverts?

Clive Davis, the creative partner at McCann Manchester who originally conceived Kevin the Carrot, provides the character’s voice. The festive campaigns are narrated by Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent. Aldi has never publicly confirmed the voiceover artist for its standard, non-character adverts.

Years of speculation

For nearly a decade, online forums attributed Kevin’s voice to professional voice actor Rob Rackstraw. The claim spread across social media and discussion threads, repeated so often it became accepted as fact. Yet no evidence supported it. McCann Manchester never issued a press release naming Rackstraw. His professional representation never listed Kevin in his credits. Aldi remained silent on the question.

The actual answer came through industry reporting and interviews with the creative team. Clive Davis, who developed the character alongside Andy Fenton in 2016, voices Kevin himself. This detail was confirmed in trade press coverage of the campaign’s production history, finally resolving a question that had puzzled viewers since Kevin’s debut.

Jim Broadbent: the voice of Christmas

Broadbent’s warm, avuncular narration has been present since the first advert aired in November 2016. He won an Academy Award for Iris in 2002. UK audiences know him from Only Fools and Horses, Paddington 2, and his role as Professor Slughorn in the Harry Potter films. His voice gives the Kevin campaigns their distinctive, storybook quality.

In 2020, Broadbent also voiced Santa Claus within the narrative itself. That same year, Irish actor Colm Meaney (known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The Commitments) appeared as Santa in an alternative version. The voice actors for Katie the Carrot and the couple’s children remain unidentified by Aldi or McCann.

The creation of Kevin

McCann Manchester developed Kevin in 2016 under Chief Creative Officer Dave Price. The brief was direct: Aldi needed a festive character that could compete with the big-budget Christmas adverts from John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, and Marks & Spencer. The supermarket wanted something charming and distinctly its own.

Creative partners Clive Davis and Andy Fenton developed the concept of an anthropomorphic carrot navigating the perils of a Christmas dinner table. The first advert showed Kevin’s journey to meet Santa, dodging roast potatoes and gravy boats. It aired in November 2016.

Aldi brought Kevin back the following year, introducing Katie the Carrot. By 2018, the couple had children: Baby Carrot, Chantenay, and Jasper. The narrative expanded each Christmas, with storylines parodying Top Gun, Home Alone, and other popular films.

The merchandise frenzy

Each year, Aldi releases plush toys of Kevin and the supporting cast. These have become a retail event. Shoppers queue outside stores before opening time. The toys routinely sell out within hours. In some years, Aldi imposed a two-per-customer limit to manage demand.

The toys are priced affordably, typically under £4 each. Some proceeds from early campaigns were donated to Barnardo’s. The frenzy around the merchandise has been covered by national news outlets, with reports of toys appearing on resale sites at inflated prices.

Why Kevin endures

The Kevin the Carrot adverts succeed because they tell a continuing story. Unlike one-off Christmas adverts, Kevin’s world builds year on year. Viewers return to see what happens next. The humour is gentle and family-friendly. The animation is high quality. The parodies of popular culture give the adverts a knowing wink that appeals to adults as well as children.

Industry analysts consistently rank the campaign among the most effective Christmas adverts in the UK. It has given Aldi, a discount supermarket, a premium-feeling festive presence that rivals the output of much larger competitors. The fact that one of the character’s creators voices him adds an unusual layer of authenticity to the production.

Aldi has not announced whether Kevin will return for future Christmas campaigns, but given the character’s enduring popularity and the supermarket’s continued investment in the narrative, it seems likely that Kevin, Katie, and their family will remain fixtures of the UK festive season.