The woman leading the stunt, Eden Avital Alexander, told the Standard that the project was an art piece designed to capture reactions to a man being led by a leash.

Alexander has worked as an actress for 20 years and starred in several plays, including productions at Camden’s The Lord Stanley and Battersea Arts Centre. She explained that the man she led around London is the director of their project and he wants to remain anonymous until the piece goes live.

A hidden camera was placed in a tissue box and carried by a woman who walked alongside them but as soon as locals began filming the pair, the camera operator joined the crowds. Alexander said some onlookers approached her and one passer-by even launched a tirade on human rights.

“It was not a BDSM or a PR stunt, the project seemed at the start like a funny thing to be a part of and was all about the audience, which for me I think is the most important part of acting,” said Alexander, who moved to London from Israel three years ago.

“I believe that artists, actors especially, should take the audience out of their normal everyday life and make them think and feel other things,” the 27-year-old added. “In this case was to make them laugh, but while doing it different things came up – though I definitely found the ‘cleaning product’ commercial and the ‘job centre’ commercial very amusing.”

A final video piece of the display is currently being edited and will focus on the reactions of the public, Alexander said.