Television presenter Stephen Mulhern has joined the fight to save his brother's pub in east London.
The Britain's Got More Talent presenter is backing the campaign to save the Duke of Wellington pub in Spitalfields, where his brother Vinny is the landlord.
The pub, which featured in the music video for Robbie Williams' song Candy, faces closure after the freehold was sold to property development company Mendoza Limited.
The developer plans to turn the building's upper floors into flats and has provisionally agreed to keep the pub on the ground and cellar floors.
But campaigners claim Mendoza "has no real intention of keeping the pub open" because the redevelopment does not include plans for a bar, kitchen or toilets on the ground floor.
They have written to planning chiefs at Tower Hamlets Council and asked them to deny the company permitted development rights, which would allow it to close the pub without a planning application.
In a statement, they said: "Under the 'permitted development' planning rules, pubs can become estate agents, restaurants or shops without the need for a planning application, and this is exactly what is expected to happen here.
"For that reason, we have asked Tower Hamlets to remove the 'permitted development rights' if they grant consent, to ensure that the pub use survives."
Giving his support to the pub today, Stephen Mulhern said the pub's closure would be a "travesty" for the local area.
He said: "I and my friends and colleagues have used my brother's pub for social occasions and work meetings for 15 years. This old pub has bundles of character and is a throwback to a bygone age.
"The garden has iconic status and it can be been seen in films and music videos. The garden is key to the success of the pub.
"In an era of trendy bars and serial killer cafés, which of course have their place too, it would be a travesty to lose a piece of our city's history to development."
Mendoza has previously taken over The Bacchus pub in Hoxton and The Peacock in Battersea. The former is no longer being run by its original tenants while the latter is now up for sale as a restaurant.
A company spokesman said it had registered a planning application with the council which included the retention of the pub.
He declined to comment further.
Residents in Tower Hamlets have until February 17 to post their objections to the planning application.
