You know Twitter has made it into the mainstream when celebrities rush to join the micro-blogging service. But who is the most popular Twitterer of them all?
We present our list of 50 Twittering celebrities, ranked in order of who has the most “followers”, or people signed up to read their messages. In essence, the list represents a Twitter Popularity Index.
The celebrities that rank highly are often more prolific writers than others, and have something interesting to say (although if you read Britney Spears' entries, you’ll find that this isn’t always the case.) We've excluded anyone that is clearly not written by the suggested author, for example Gordon Brown and Barack Obama don't make the list as their entries are written by their staff.
We encourage readers to write in to tell us about more Twittering celebrities, and in the coming weeks and months we will update this league table. All figures are correct at the time of writing.
1. Stephen Fry: 98616 followers
Read his Twitter feed at:http://twitter.com/stephenfry
Typical Tweet: “600 people went to the theatre, not to to see Oliver but to compete in a paper & chocolate wrapper rustling competition. Others came to cough”
2. Lance Armstrong: 53813
Cyclist, record breaking Tour De France Winner
“Got the Knaggs' family/kids over here at the house. 6 kids ripping around. It's madness! Luke and 5 girls. Ha! Have a good weekend everyone!”
3. Britney Spears: 53290
“I love Japan! I think all the tiny cars are so cute! –Britney”
4. Rick Sanchez: 48825
American TV news anchor
“i twitter because i need as a journalist to get what viewers think and say. w/out them i'm just another talking head.they complete me, lol!”
5. Shaquille O'Neill: 46296
Basketball player, Actor
“Anotha sleepless nite, n twitter land, aaaaaggggghhhhhhh, whyyyyyyyyyyyy”
6. John Cleese: 44142
Actor, Comedian
“Thank you everyone for the messages. Remember I am practically dead, barely functional. Your patience is appreciated. Will blog again soon”
7. Jonathan Ross: 43432
Tv Presenter, Comedian
“You can lead a celeb to twitter but you can't always make them tweet.”
8. Al Gore: 38351
American politician, Former US Vice President, Environmentalist
“I'm advocating a US goal of 100% carbon-free electricity in 10 years. If you are interested in the plan, check today's NYT op-Ed on it”
9. MC Hammer: 34042
Rapper
“I appreciate all the love (tweets) of congratulations you sent to me about the Super Bowl commercial (Cash4Gold) ...it means a lot..thanks”
10. John Hodgman: 32097
Comedian
“Desk is clear for the first time since beginning of book tour. Apparently it is made of wood”
11. Jimmy Fallon: 27163
American Comedian
“Just got 4 deli platters from The Daily Show for me and the staff. Classy peeps. Thanks!”
12. Dave Matthews: 24064
Musician
“I been playing different guitars. One looks quite a bit like a strat but Rob Cavallo had it made for me (I liked his).”
13. Neil Gaiman: 17705
Author
“Clues you're twittering too much : during an interesting dream, you think "I must twitter this", and start looking in dream for your phone.”
14. Philip Schofield: 17291
TV presenter
“Just got the viewing figures for DOI last night, best yet .... 10.9 million. Everyone thrilled with that!! If you watched, thank you.”
15. Russell Brand: 15673
Comedian, TV Presenter, Actor
i"m in bed with my cat morrissey. he'd be furious if he knew i was writing this. he conveys affection by milking me, sans consent. grim
16 Alan Carr: 12,294
“Regretting eating that extra portion of tenderstem broccoli, got awful wind. Nearly blew out my scented candle”
17. Demi Moore: 11655
Actress
“Don’t know how this community of positivity was created but I’m grateful to have found you and thrilled to be a part of this. Go Twitterers
18. Arnold Schwarzenegger: 11147
Governor of California, former actor
“This is about clean air, saving drivers' money at the gas pump, and about reducing dependence on foreign oil”
19. Jimmy Carr: 8827
Comedian
“is performing at Peterborough tonight, then Brighton tomorrow”
20. Kevin Smith: 8379
Film Director, Actor
I think someone tried to hack into my account. Bummer
21. William Shatner: 7599
Actor
“Ricardo Montalban was a wonderful man I saw him on Broadway I was entertained by his movies. I loved working with him on the film we made”
22. Snoop Doggy Dogg: 7549
Rapper
“Who's down to ride with Dogg???”
23. Karl Rove: 7233
Political advisor
“En route to Miami for a speaking engagement— a discussion on the new Administration and analysis of the general political landscape.”
24. Paulo Coelho: 5722
Author
“I'm diving deeper into Timothy Leary's perception of the world but without the LSD”
25. David Mitchell: 5465
“Thank you so much for believing I'm the real me! I've double checked and I still am. I'll try and post something informative occasionally”
26. Soulja Boy: 5425
Rapper
“My video gone take him out the game Lol y'all gone love this sh*t just wait”
27. Charlie Brooker: 5338
Columnist, satirist, writer
“GATE O’CLOCK (gayt-oh-klok) – Noun. The tipping point at which the suffix “-gate” may be appended to any given scandal”
28. Luke Wilson: 4809
Actor
“It's hard to keep this twitter thing updated! I should hire someone to do this! ;)”
29. Andy Murray: 4758
Tennis Player
“In abu dhabi - redirected cuz of fog. Gone with that. Killing treacle on nintendo brain train tho”
30. Rob Brydon: 4673
Actor, Comedian
“Almost ten hours of sleep, a modern day personal best!”
31. Joe Trippi: 4644
Political Adviser
“Completely fueled by Diet-Pepsi during Dean Campaign and since, I unfortunately must report that I do not feel "Forever Young”
32. Graham Linehan: 4071
Sitcom writer behind Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd
“I'm pro-erotica, anti-vampire”
33. Andi Peters: 4021
“I'm a Nando's lover. Medium Peri-peri. Yum. All I talk about is food...why not!!”
34. Will Carling: 3115
“Just about to have a meeting with Rob Jones, a rugby legend from the Valleys!! And a top boy (but can only drink 3 shandys a night!!)”
35. Boris Johnson: 2281
Politician: Mayor of London, Columnist
“Sorry everyone for my radio silence. Not been sking but in Davos. Wall to wall bankerfest and crazy busy schedule. Promise to twitter mo ...”
36. Michael Phelps: 2239
Swimmer
“Michael Phelps + New Hobby = Poker !!”
37. Jamie Oliver: 2140
Chef
“yeah!great guys,go for it! get involed, talk about pork, cook different cuts, buy british! the recipes are there. and pledge pledge pledge”
38. Elijah Wood: 2118
Actor
“Dancing in my underwear like Tom Cruise in Risky Biz, lol”
39. Tim Minchin: 1965
Comedian, musician, actor
“without wanting to sound too crass, tickets for next month's leicester show have gone on sale. do come”
40. Rachel Bilson: 1720
Actress
“shopping! shhhhhh”
41. Mischa Barton: 1672
“Hey guys, go check out out my blog where I clear up some rumors you might have read. Don't believe everything you read! ; ) XOXO MB”
42. Yoko Ono: 1199
Artist
“Every day, I am thankful that I am alive. It's not like we are more deserving than the ones who are running for survival under bombs”
43. Eli Manning: 1328
American Football player
“big game tonight. home field at stake. feelin good”
44. Regina Spektor: 1293
Musician
“trying to keep up with all the followers! Xoxoxox”
45. George Lucas: 973
Director
“Kids are really loving the new Clone Wars series”
46. Jamie Cullum: 929
Musician
“Wow. As I listen to this new stuff I realise that i've definitely chosen vibe over perfection. All full takes, no editing”
47. Xzibit: 661
Rapper, TV Presenter
“black and gold is wack and old......LOL”
48. Richard Herring: 513
Comedian
“Playing scrabble in cafe Nero after getting too cold for comfort in regents park. Winning of course. Best word so far- patinas 73”
49. Roots Manuva: 388
Rapper, Musician
“Wassup twitation massive! The slime tour blasted off like a rocket. I'm in norfork now. Can someone tell my aunt delia to pop into the show.”
50. Toby Young: 103
Journalist, Broadcaster
“So 38 million Americans watched their new President flub the Oath. Even George "They misunderestimated me" Bush got that right”
