The amazing story of famous jacket potato seller Spud Man

Spudmania shows no signs of abating and singing stars and crowds in the Spudarmy continue to flock to the centre of Tamworth to sample Ben Newman's humble jacket potatoes. He’s the social media star with millions of followers who has been attracting big name stars and crowds to his hot food takeaway stall in a Staffordshire town. But Spud Man’s rise to fame has taken more than 20 years.

The jacket potato seller, real name Ben Newman, took over his pitch in St Editha’s Square in Tamworth, once capital of the Kingdom of Mercia, some 22 years ago. His dad supplied the previous hot spud seller with the all important potatoes and when the pitch became available, he bought it for £16,000.

And for two decades he went about his trade, with those in Tamworth heading for their hot lunches - but beyond the town few knowing a lot about him. That all changed when Ben signed up to video centric social media platform, TikTok, to see what his children – some nine of them – had been watching as several had the app.

Ben Newman:

"The kids put TikTok in front of me. I posted a couple of videos and the third one got half-a-million views. I like live streaming on there. I put a camera on and get on with my day. It’s very honest. There’s nowhere to hide. You’ve got to be yourself."

Spud Man at his pitch of more than 20 years in St Editha's Square in Tamworth - before a temporary move while it is being refurbished

That was back in February 2021 and Ben started posting videos to let people know that he was back open as restrictions from the Covid pandemic gradually eased. It was then that his now iconic pink ‘Brohawk’ became a thing – a nod to Kidney Research UK, as part of a fundraiser for the charity to raise £5,500, with Ben having had three transplants and needing regular dialysis. Initially, he had to get to 1,000 followers to livestream his daily interactions with customers – the Spudarmy was born.

By December that year, Ben and his Spudarmy channel had 120,000 followers watching his videos. By May 2022 that neared 200,000. And now he has more than four million followers, with 1.6 million more on Facebook and 465k on Instagram.

Ben Newman, aka Spud Man, serving one of his now world-famous jacket potatoes at his wagon in Tamworth

And with that came a new revenue stream. The Spud Man wagon is usually yards away from the Colin Grazier memorial, an able seaman from the town who helped recover Enigma codebooks from a German U-boat. Those codes were cracked at Bletchley Park and are believed to have shortened World War II 'by at least a year'. And Ben’s cracked the TikTok code and gets paid by the platform per 1,000 UK views. That allows him to offer free potatoes, which he does throughout his shifts.

The queue stretching down Tamworth town centre for Spud Man's free day for charity on Saturday, January 27, 2024

But he really shot to fame getting the country and world’s media attention a little over a year ago, at the start of 2024. In January, he held a free potato day and hundreds queued for the free offer, with some 1,500 jacket spuds given away to 1,000 customers – one of the little disguised ‘secrets’ of his success is portions of one-and-a-half spuds per serving!

That event too was a Kidney Research UK fundraiser amassing more than £7,000 for the cause, well above his initial £1,000 target. Then came Spud Man’s first celebrity visit. Brit Awards winner, Tom Walker in February. The Best Breakthrough Act of 2019 served customers, met fans and performed Head Underwater to the masses in ST Editha’s Square.

Tom Walker:

"What an incredible day hanging out in Tamworth with Spudman!!! It's genuinely wonderful that him and his team have managed to create this amazing buzz in the community and online. Hands down the best baked potato I've ever eaten."

Tamworth's Spudman with Tom Walker

Spud Man’s videos now attract millions of views – one on TikTok has been watched a staggering 122 million times and simply shows a giveaway to a customer of a spud with butter and cheese and a bottle of Dr Pepper.

More than 20 of his videos have more than 10 million views and dozens more are in the millions – showing simple, friendly interactions with his customers. And with that TikTok fame and following has come the crowds, with people queuing hours for the humble spud. Customers have heading to the spud wagon from far afield – the US, Malaysia, Indonesia and even Australia. And providing a boost for nearby businesses – some of whom have joined him on his TikTok videos.

In April last year Ben and his Spud Man van appeared in a Screwfix ad. And in August he launched a cookbook – with tips and tricks on how to bake the perfect potato – and create fillings to match. His success has continued despite a 'temporary' move from St Editha’s Square last year to make way for its refurbishment. Ben appeared on ITV 's This Morning last November with as part of a 'UK's best food trucks' item.

Spud Man aka Ben Newman (right) hosted American singer, Teddy Swims (centre) and Sutton Coldfield's Hollywood actor, Martyn Ford (left), on his jacket potato wagon in Tamworth

That move almost became permanent with Ben revealing his pitch, which he now values at £100,000, was to be 'replaced by a flowerbed'. But a fortnight later Tamworth Borough Council backtracked and confirmed he will be back on his regular pitch in May – wisely it seems given the custom Spud Man draws to the town. Ben said it was a ‘communication’ issue – but that had all been smoothed over. And that could not be more apparent, after the local council pitched in to help Spud Man host American singing star, Teddy Swims.

He was taking time away from his UK tour and gigs in Birmingham to sell spuds and sing his hit Lose Control making the day for an 11-year-old fan and local band, Callum and The Pookies. Even Holywood actor, Martyn Ford, made an appearance too. Get the latest BirminghamLive news direct to your inbox Last year he gave away around 5,000 spuds throughout the year and this year he has pledged to double that to give 10,000 free in 2025.

And if you're over 70 now is the time to head to see him - with free spuds all March - with his aim to beat the 1,700 given away in October last year. It’s Ben’s warts and all posts from his business, to his health, his interactions with customers, freebies aplenty and raising money for good causes, including helping pensioners, that have made Spud Man the star. And why stars themselves want to visit - but he's as accommodating with the everyman (or woman) and that's his enduring appeal...