David Mitchell, the canine drug mule

Peep Show star fronts anti-drug campaign

Peep Show's David Mitchell has been signed up to provide the voice of a drug-smuggling dog in a £1million government campaign targeting cocaine use.

The comic plays Pablo ‘the drug mule dog’ in the adverts, aimed at encouraging teenagers to call the drug helpline Frank.

In the ad, the dog wakes up dead, his stomach having been sliced open to recover the cocaine he was smuggling. He then follows the drugs trail, encountering paranoid users and aggressive dealers.

The minister for children and young people, Delyth Morgan, said the commercial, which debuts on Channel 4 tonight, was designed to counter the image of celebrities happily partying with cocaine.

She said: ‘Many young people wrongly associate cocaine with celebrities and success, so it is really important that this new Frank campaign gives a more balanced view.’

At the weekend, Mitchell admitted he had never even been offered cocaine, saying he found it ‘hurtful and annoying’ to be considered ‘too square even to be worth attempting to corrupt’.

However, he said he never wanted to take it, arguing: ‘If I tried cocaine, the worst outcome would be that I liked it and the best that I didn't. When not liking something is the most you can hope for from consuming it, that's a good reason to abstain.’

Here is the ad: