SACHA BARON COHEN - BORAT MAKES BRITAIN'S MOST INFLUENTIAL TOP 20

BORAT MAKES BRITAIN'S MOST INFLUENTIAL TOP 20

Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen has been named as one of the 20 most influential people in Britain.

The comic behind his famous Kazakhstani alter ego is 19th on GQ's annual list of the 100 most influential people.

After a meteoric rise to fame internationally during 2006 as 'Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan' entertained audiences across the world, Cohen has risen to prominence in the film industry.

A Golden Globe-winner, Cohen is one of the major new entrants in the magazine's top 100, as GQ explained, likening his status to that of the Beatles.

"Not since John Lennon has an English entertainer had such an effect on the world," the magazine said.

Top of the list is would-be prime minister Gordon Brown, one place above his current boss Tony Blair, while Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, is third. Brown's political rival David Cameron is 17th on the list.

Others in the top ten include Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, Sky supremo Rupert Murdoch and the BBC's director general Mark Thompson .

Notable absentees included David Beckham and wife Victoria, who dropped out of the top 100.