Sir Richard Branson has returned to the small screen in the role of a Glasgow Central station cleaner at the launch of Virgin Trains’ latest TV campaign.

In his first appearance in a Virgin ad for almost 10 years, a decidedly scruffy-looking Sir Richard, heavily disguised with fake tattoos and blacked out teeth, drives a refuse trolley across the concourse, almost colliding with stressed middle manager Ed rushing to catch a Pendolino for the most important meeting of his life.

No stranger to cameo TV appearances in such shows as Friends, Baywatch and Only Fools and Horses, and in films including Casino Royale and around the World in 80 Days, the Virgin Group founder has lately eschewed screen appearances.

In the business travel ad, star Ed finally sets off on his train journey, connects his laptop to on-train wi-fi and begins to craft the presentation of his career. As he tucks into his full English breakfast and relaxes, his mind wanders to the business success to which he has always aspired, and he leaves the train at Preston refreshed and with his dreamed-of presentation.

The second ad in the campaign features a beautiful blonde sweetheart preparing for a dreamy weekend with a new boyfriend, emphasising the pleasures of leisure travel by train.

Sir Richard said: “Years ago I decided to bow out and let our companies tell their own product stories in TV ads without my ugly mug detracting from their messages! But I am so proud of all our staff at Virgin Trains that if dressing up in disgustingly dirty clothes, having teeth blacked out and getting covered in fake tattoos is what it takes to prove it, I am delighted to oblige.”

But RMT leader Bob Crow has failed to see the funny side of Sir Richard’s performance, criticising him for displaying a “patronising” attitude to union members who work under enormous pressure to make the services tick.

He said that to treat hard-working employees, who had earned him a fortune in recent years, in this way as “some sort of excuse for getting out the fancy dress box” was patronising in the extreme.

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