Celebrity encounters

[Dusty Substance]

Quite a few over the years, but here are a few that stand out in my memory......

Met Rolf Harris after a show he did in 1998. My dog had died the day before so my friends kindly bought me a ticket as a way of cheering me up and taking things off my mind, forgetting of course that at the time Rolf was presenter of Animal Hospital, and a bunch of his anecdotes revolved around dead pets. My 18 year old friend sat herself on his knee as we posed for a photo. Don't hear much from Rolf these days.

Tony 'Adley Outta Spand-eh Ball-eh - The aforementioned friend, who sat on Rolf's lap, and I drunkenly plagued him with questions about the time Spandau competed against Duran on Pop Quiz and, very much to his credit, Tony Hadley was nice enough to go along with it. My friend and I were both drunk at the time, and I recorded the encounter on a hidden dictophone. I still have the tape but cringe at the thought of ever listening to it again. I do remember saying at one point "Well, Tony, you haven't lost it". He wasn't even 40 at the time. I'm now three years older than he was at the time.

Certainly not a celebrity, but I met a local TV weathergirl whose name I can't recall, and I remember thinking that I'd never met anyone quite so dead behind the eyes. Like she'd had her entire life-force sucked out by an alien entity. Scary stuff.

Because I'm often told that I look someone or other (either famous or like someone they used to work with), sometimes when I've met a celebrity they often appear as if they know me from somewhere, I can see them trying to work it out and they'll ask searching questions like "What are you up to these days?" or "What are you working on at the moment?" and very often I'll just wing it, to prolong the encounter and also for my own amusement.

[Jockice]

Because I'm often told that I look someone or other (either famous or like someone they used to work with), sometimes when I've met a celebrity they often appear as if they know me from somewhere, I can see them trying to work it out and they'll ask searching questions like "What are you up to these days?" or "What are you working on at the moment?" and very often I'll just wing it, to prolong the encounter and also for my own amusement.

Here's one of mine. Mentioned it on here before but here we go. About ten years ago I had to use a courtesy car for a couple of weeks and as I can't use foot controls anymore even on an automatic I had to get temporary hand controls fitted. The bloke who was doing it said: "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Hey, it's possible you know. Local media celeb and all that. But then he followed it up by asking if I'd watched I'm With Stupid, the disability-related sitcom from a few years earlier.  Well I had and it turned out he was one of the actors in it, doing what was obviously his day job. This chap. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Davids. I've seen him in Corrie and a couple of other things since.

I mentioned this anecdote to an uncle I met up with a couple of days afterwards and he said: "I bet he asks everyone if he knows them just so he can tell them about himself." Sounds entirely possible.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Hmmmmm.....is it worth starting another " Who do you look like? " thread, do we think?

[Jockice]

But I look like nobody else on earth.

[Cerys]

Derek Acorah, who came in through the front reception, inexplicably sat in the hotel's emergency wheelchair being pushed by two fawning middle-aged women. I was too gobsmacked to say anything but I did suck him to completion and swallowed the lot later in the evening.

I have my doubts about this.  It's a fact that Derek Acorah splooged nothing but faint, vaporous ectoplasm, which would have escaped through your nostrils like the pungent breath of a snoozing dragon.

[Hat FM]

Met Fearne Cotton at the after party for my uni ball about ten years ago. thought i recognised her from uni so asked her what course she was on. she then spent about ten minutes explaining who she was but i didnt believe her. i later remembered that she had dj'd at said ball. a similar thing happened when i met carl cox. was talking to him and his friends for some reason (drunk) and told him that he looked just like carl cox. the looks and hidden sniggers confirmed it was indeed him. Met Ricky Gervais in Bromley high street pre the office filming for his channel 4 tv show. told him i wanted to join the pen15 club. i think back and although the office is my favourite sitcom of all time, if i had murdered him there and then there would be no derek or afterlife. so sorry about that. i have lots more but those stand out.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Tony 'Adley Outta Spand-eh Ball-eh - The aforementioned friend, who sat on Rolf's lap

Hadley's put on weight since Spandau Ballet's chart days.  I bet he about squashed Rolf.  How did you become friends with him?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Went on a school-organised trip to a garden centre and one of the women Gladiators that wasn't Jet was there getting photos and giving out signed photos. Even at the time I was thinking 'arsed, mate'. The dads probably enjoyed it more than anyone else.

[Cerys]

My usual celebrity encounter is the woman who played Judith Iscariot in The Life of Brian.  Nice lady.

[badaids]

I saw both Suzi Quattro and Jimmy White in a horrible funfair in Brighton in the 80s. It was a horrible rainy windy day and they both looked fed up with being there with their respective families. They weren't together, they just both happened to be there at the same time.

My mate's step Dad ran a special effects studio in Sunbury. One day in the holidays we had to go to work with him as there was no other childcare. He wasn't happy about it and he kept us outside where we collected frogs next to the river, while he was inside making a prosthetic head of David Bellamy who turned up to see how the work was going on. Against orders we approached him and asked him what he thought of our frogs. To our massive disappointment he just said 'keep em wet lads' and went inside. I'm not sure what we were expecting him to say or do.

At Chessington World of Adventures we saw Bodger of Bodger and Badger walking around, not with badger in plain clothes looking well narked old, just mooching around. So three of us decided to follow him, making the conscious decision to say nothing just amble after him in silence, gawping at him with our mouths open. After about 40 minutes of this he lost it and turned around shouting at us to clear off and shaking his fist at us.

[Jittlebags]

My usual celebrity encounter is the woman who played Judith Iscariot in The Life of Brian.  Nice lady.

Blimey! Didn't realise she used to be married to Chris Langham.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

But I look like nobody else on earth.

Not even Frankie Howerd's younger brother? ;)

[Jockice]

Not even Frankie Howerd's younger brother? ;)

Ooh missus!

(Saw Frankie live once in a small venue. But didn't actually meet him.)

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Mocking! Mocking Jockice!
( To His credit, Jockice has had the restraint not to mention Bob Mills to me.)

[Jockice]

Mocking! Mocking Jockice!
( To His credit, Jockice has had the restraint not to mention Bob Mills to me.)

I'm a model of restraint me. Not a human being, an actual model of restraint.

[batwings]

Saw Keith Chegwin with his arms around two young ladies in a Somerset pub car park on the Friday night before a Swap Shop outside broadcast from the village green the next morning, late 70s. My mate Terry skipped a stone across the ground which hit Cheggers in the ankle.

Another friend was in a barbers in Bristol and saw Derrick Griffiths walk past the window. Mentions this often.

I've been in Depeche Mode's Alan Wilder's kitchen.

Saw the bloke who played Bergerac's father in law and either Murray Walker or the boxing one having a chat in a newsagents somewhere near Gatwick.

[Jockice]

Another friend was in a barbers in Bristol and saw Derrick Griffiths walk past the window. Mentions this often.

Pah! He drove past my local park when I was a teenager. I can't remember if I was there at the time or someone told me about it though, so it's a borderline one for me.

[Pavlov`s Dog`s Dad`s Dead]

John Parrott once refused to get in a lift with me. Beat that.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Sometime in the early 90s I saw 1989 World's Strongest Man Jamie Reeves drinking with a local strongman competitor and event organiser in a pub in Wolverhampton.

It was lucky I wasn't doing my hilarious skit with my mate Steve - a fellow lifting and WSM enthusiast - in which I'd regularly put on a shit Yorkshire accent and impersonate Jamie "Pork Pie" Reeves, alluding to his round, red face and probable love of pork pies ("I only eat lattice top when dieting"). Imagine being mid flow and getting that tap on my shoulder.

[Cuellar]

Kris Akabusi smashed a light with a basketball and blamed me

[Fr.Bigley]

Kris Akabusi smashed a light with a basketball and blamed me

He's a bit of a cunt like that, he tipped my Toby carvery over my nan and said "they won't believe you you fucking wanker".

[Blinder Data]

I've seen various celebs out and about but the most beguiling encounter was a few years ago when I saw Frances McDormand, Joel Coen and some other guy having a drink on Gordon Street in Glasgow city centre. The incongruity of such Oscar-winning Hollywood heavyweights in my city beguiled me totally.

I don't think they they were there for a production - it looked like a family thing. Maybe they were in Scotland for the fringe and were staying in Glasgow instead of Edinburgh? Maybe it was a stop-off during a luxurious escapade in the Highlands and Islands? Who knows.

BEGUILING!

[Better Midlands]

I think I've recounted before that I sold a copy of the original release of Song To The Siren by The Dust (Chemical) Brothers to Ed Simons' pensioner mum. We had a chat and she told me proudly that Andrew Weatherall was remixing it for a rerelease on Junior Boys Own.

[Better Midlands]

EDIT:  Oh and whilst I'm at it, I was drunk at a pinball convention[nb]Yes, these things exist.  Go to one, they're great[/nb]., yabbering on about Tempest to some random guy, who politely informed me that I was talking to none other than Jeff Minter.  Old school game designer who wrote Tempest 2000.  Is this the most niche answer in this thread?

I met Jeff Minter once at what I think was some sort of computing convention/tradeshow in London circa 1986 - I was pretty young but remember the Llamasoft stand being the most interesting thing there.

[Jack Shaftoe]

Once accidentally hummed the 'Superman' theme at Suralan Sugar. In that I was standing in a foyer, started humming it for no reason, a bit louder than I meant to, turned slightly and realised I was standing right next to Suralan. He absolutely beamed at me, clearly thinking I literally took him for some kind of actual superhero and I petered out in confusion.

At the time I was quite annoyed and wanted him to know I didn't think he was Superman at all, but now I've come to the conclusion there are far worse people around and if I accidentally brightened someone's day for a moment, no harm done.

Second-hand celebrity encounter via late of this parish Richard Preddy/sick as a pike, who told me about he was writing stuff for the MTV awards, which involved hanging out with Robbie Williams for a while. RW played him his newest CD and asked which song he thought should be the first single. Rich thought for a bit and said 'Definitely not that Angels one', after which RW apparently 'went a bit quiet'.

[Mr Trumpet]

I had a friend who was really into QI, and knew a few of the production team. She's American but whenever she visited the UK she went to loads of recordings and would usually invite me to a couple. I didn't even watch the show but it's a nice afternoon out isn't it? Plus she was always able to inveigle us into the green room afterwards. So I shared some crisps with Sue Perkins, had a beer with Ross Noble, had some buffet ham stolen by Stephen Fry, and sat in awkward silence on a sofa with Rhys Darby while we both pretended to look at our phones.

Also met Fry's (very young) fiance and chatted about beanie babies

[Jockice]

Saw the bloke who played Bergerac's father in law and either Murray Walker or the boxing one having a chat in a newsagents somewhere near Gatwick.

My dad once met a boxing commentator on a train and bored him to death... sorry, had a nice conversation with him. I wouldn't recognise a boxing commentator if he sat on top of me.

However, I did see Damian Johnson on a train once. Now in my early journalism days he worked for a radio station that was literally just round the corner from our office..We'd occasionally be sent out to cover the same stories and would say hello to each other. We weren't mates but we knew each other's names.

So when I was coming back from the toilet and went past him, I stopped and said: "Hiya Damian. How are you?" And he totally blanked me. Didn't even acknowledge that anyone had spoken to him. Fair enough if he didn't remember me but this was just plain rude.

I can understand very famous people doing that. I didn't try to talk to Bobby Charlton when I saw him but understand he doesn't respond if anyone talks to him but I can also understand why, especially at Old Trafford. He wouldn't get a second's peace.

But this was a BBC sports reporter on a train. Being left alone. Nobody was bothering him. It's not as if I deliberately sat next to him or anything. Just gave him a friendly greeting as I passed him. Damian mate, you're not the Queen or Paul McCartney or anything like that so there's absolutely no need to be so up your own arse. Prick

[Cuellar]

He's a bit of a cunt like that, he tipped my Toby carvery over my nan and said "they won't believe you you fucking wanker".

Yes but mine ACTUALLY REALLY happened in life

[Tony Tony Tony]

Not actually an encounter but I did manage to get on Ken Bruce radio 2 popmaster quiz so I had a chat with the great man.

Tanked it on the questions scoring a miserable 9 points but still was rewarded with a t-shirt.

[kalowski]

John Cleese in a Fulham pet shop 1980's.
Lived 4 doors down from Rick Mayall, Oxford Gardens,  Ladbroke grove late 90's. Damon Albarn, Chaka Khan and Martin Clunes (separately) came to the bar where I was resident dj, portobello late 90's.
Paul Weller, Bill Bailey,  Jarvis Cocker all seen regularly. Richard Osman seen a few times, Goldhawk Road. Rob Brydon, Marble Arch. Gina Yashere came to a wedding I was playing music at. Simon Pegg on the tube late 90's. Lennox Lewis, Chris Evan and a Bee Gee I met on the bar at TFI Friday. Mr Scruff, Fabio & Grooverider, Jumping Jack Frost...Goldie, loads of times.. Kate Moss in a chip shop.

I went to school with Mr Scruff. Really top bloke.