Love it or loathe it, the new Halifax TV advert can’t be ignored. And for its Kirklees star it’s the breakthrough that’s bringing him a taste of fame.

HE lives in Thornhill and he’s a bit irritating. According to some people.

Thomas Yau, 25, is the latest Halifax employee to star in a TV commercial for the bank.

He follows in the footsteps of the all-singing, all-dancing Howard Brown, who shot to instant fame after fronting ads.

It shows him going to work on a morning as usual, but being transported to a sunny beach as he sings his version of 1964 hit I’m Into Something Good by Herman’s Hermits.

Like other Halifax ads it’s loud, brash and in-your-face.

Some people are branding it as the most annoying ad on TV.

A group called Ban The New Halifax Ad has been set up on social networking site Facebook, with one member saying: “I will never bank with them because I hate it so much.”

More than 3,400 people have viewed a one-minute clip on YouTube.

One man who logged on wrote: “He so annoys me. The advert is stupid.”

Thomas has worked at a call centre in Leeds for 18 months and beat off more than 1,300 other Halifax staff to land the role.

He says: “It all started when an internal email was sent out at work to find the star of the next Halifax advert. Just for fun I thought ‘yeah why not’ and I applied.”

He didn’t hear anything for eight weeks and assumed he’d lost out. Then he was told he was one of 12 people to be shortlisted.

Thomas had singing lessons from David Grant, vocal coach on BBC TV talent show Fame Academy, and trained with choreographer Supple Nam, who has worked with Madonna, Janet Jackson and Destiny’s Child.

Auditions were held in front of the ad’s director, the agency creative team and Halifax’s marketing team.

Then came the day Thomas heard he had been chosen.

“I was just simply having my lunch and I noticed there was a missed call on my phone, so I decided to call the number back.

“There was this voice saying: “Oh yes Thomas, just to give you the good news; if you haven’t guessed already we’d like to see you in the next commercial”.

“I was speechless and didn’t know what to say and then I just screamed at the top of my voice with about 50 people in the canteen looking at me

“I felt very, very excited; to be honest I didn’t know what to do with myself next.”

The ad, for Halifax High Interest Current Account, was filmed over seven days in Cape Town, South Africa, and the shoot involved 20 trained dancers and up to 180 extras.

Director Vaughan Arnell has previously worked on brands such as Dove, 02, Ford, Carlsberg, Intel, Stella Artois and the RAF.

He is also noted as the director of the music video for Supreme by Robbie Williams.

Thomas himself is proud of the TV advert and reckons you can’t help but smile when you see it.

But what do people in Huddersfield think? Do they believe it’s as bad as internet users claim? Have the critics gone too far?

The general verdict seems to be one of no great annoyance.

Student Emma Firth, 19, said: “It’s cheesy, but I’ve seen worse.”

Lauren Jackson, 20, also a student, said: “The guy in it looks really good. If they want an example of a naff advert then they should choose one of those furniture ones.”

Office worker Ron Beaumont, 45, from Quarmby, said: “We’ve all noticed it, haven’t we? And I suppose that’s the whole point of it. They must be pleased.”

Sarah Charles, 23, a shopworker, said: “I get a bit annoyed sometimes when the song gets in my head and won’t go away. But I’d say on the whole that it’s a feelgood advert.”

Steve Griffiths, head of marketing at the Halifax, said: “Thomas was particularly good at the auditions and we’re delighted with the result.

“We’re hoping that the new current account advert proves as successful and memorable as its predecessors.”