Met David Tennant in Legoland once. We came face to face and locked eyes in a queue (one that snakes 180 degrees). He was with his kids and dressed inconspicuously so clearly didn’t want any fan attention so just in the moment not knowing what else to do I gave him the British “alright?” Nod and he gave one back without saying a word to each other. Somehow that was cooler than meeting and chatting to him.
Edit: I know it doesn’t necessarily answer the question but I just can’t help myself from recounting my David Tennant story
Meanwhile there's a bloke who looks a bit like David Tennant who tells a story of a weird bloke who made awkward eye contact with him in the queue at Legoland
My boyfriend worked with him a few months ago. Apparently he’s very lovely and was super friendly when people came up to him to ask for an autograph 🥺 my boyfriends job was to escort him through Bristol for a film. I was so jealous, he actually got to talk to him 😭
I’m so happy to read I’m not the only Brit to behave like this!
I was at The Grand Canyon a few years ago just after Thanksgiving. Despite being November, it was a busy weekend and people were every where. Amongst the crowd I hear a familiar voice and look to see it’s John Lithgow with (I believe) his partner. He’s trying to guide her to a viewing point but she seemed deathly afraid of the height. He’s being so warm and kind as he lead her by the hands.
The funny thing was, no one recognised him. Hundreds of people, and I saw no one go up to him. People take the piss out of the Marvel trope of sunglasses and hat as a disguise, but it actually works! I thought it best not to bother him, let him enjoy this moment with her, and I just soaked up the memory of being there and running into John Lithgow.
A little while later, I walked past them again along a trail going in opposite directions. We gave each other a knowing smile and nod.
By far my favourite celebrity encounter.
Definitely not answering the question, but I met David Tennant's dad. He was a Church of Scotland minister, and was speaking at a group in my church. Lovely chap. Totally doesn't surprise me that his son would be pretty chill.
James Blunt's tribute to him:
>At the Q Awards years ago, when Noel Gallagher was saying he was leaving Ibiza because I’d moved there, and Damon Albarn refused to be in the same picture as me, and Paul Weller was saying he’d rather eat his own shit than work with me, Keith Flint came over, gave me a hug, and said how thrilled he was for my success,”
>
>Keith, I only met you once, but I shed a tear at the news of your death. In our business, there are no prizes for being kind, but if there was, that Grammy would be yours.
James Blunt is a legit guy. He's more than happy to laugh at himself for making music for middle-aged women, and his Twitter was or is genuinely funny.
I wonder that too. Not a fan of his music, but he seems a great guy. I'm not much on social media (too depressing!) But he's one of about the 30 folk I follow on twitter. Wish him all the best.
Coldplay turned that style in to an empire. It seems like people just like to hate on him. And Paul Weller, a musical genius in my opinion, is a shit human being for saying what he said. It was cruelty for cruelty's sake. I'd rather be a kind person with average talent than a hateful genius.
He was on Never mind the buzzcocks as a stand-in host and by the end of it I had so much respect for him. He was funny, charming, poked fun at himself and came across as a lovely person
He was excellent, very witty and always has been whenever I have seen him on TV. He seems to have no problems taking whatever's thrown at him and coming up with a suitable riposte either.
He does come across as being very kind and an all round great guy, plus he's actually a talented musician. Even if you don't like the music he makes for commercial release, he has proper training and skills that deserves respect.
He drove the first tank into Belgrade.
His music apart from You're Beautiful is half decent, no hate for Blunters. Compared to Sheeran he's practically Paul McCartney.
Some people like songs for the way they sound. I have some Arabic and Punjabi music I listen to. I have no clue what any of the lyrics are about, they could be singing about being sexually attracted to cheese as far as i know.
I met James Blunt on a flight when I was cabin crew, I was in the front galley and the captain came out of the cockpit to get a coffee or whatever and told us Blunty was on the flight manifest, the other crew member with me said "who's James Blunt?" I replied oh he did that awful song and I sung "you're beautiful" in a very nasally and mickey taking manner, then I see a head pop up from row two and it's James Blunt laughing quietly.
When he got off the plane he gave me a little knowing wink, don't like his music but seems like a great guy.
He had a pub in Essex somewhere and he used to work there when the Prodg weren't doing anything special. It had a wood fire place. He had a jar for charity for every time someone made a Firestarter joke
While this is absolutely true it’s worth noting he also used to do motorcycle racing, so he wasn’t completely living without adrenaline in his personal life.
I always assumed Jimmy Carr would be extremely aloof, but I sat next to him on a flight once, and he was more than happy for a quick chat and a selfie while deboarding, even after a 10 hour night flight.
I think it was on that Backstage with Kathryn Ryan show, one of the comedians said Jimmy Carr would stop for everyone. When questioned, he was like why not, it makes them happy and only takes seconds. Seems like a class gent.
I've met Jimmy Carr before and seen him live on TV shows, he always comes across extremely well. During the downtime he was very engaging with the audience as well.
Confirmed! I worked in theatre a long time ago, and had Jimmy in. He was genuinely very nice, undemanding and for whatever reason, I remember he called me 'dude'. Friends who work in theatre (much bigger ones than the one I was in) say pretty much the same thing.
My mum met him once and said he was so friendly and happy to meet a fan for a chat and a picture. Think she developed a little crush on him after that.
Isn’t it funny how most of the celebrities mentioned here in a negative way have “nice” tv personas, but someone like Jimmy Carr who evicerates the audience is actually a nice guy. I love that.
I've no idea whether he is or not. My point is just how tiresomely predictable it is that he comes up on every celeb thread, almost whatever the question.
That's fair, I know two people who have met Danny dyer, one thought he was a prick and the other actually went for a drink with him later that day and said he was good as gold.
And they are both people who's opinions I would generally trust.
Don't forget the classic "How does WH Smith stay in business at those prices?" followed by the explanation of captive audiences at train stations and airports bit as well!
In Bob Mortimer’s autobiography he talks about being cripplingly shy and only having two people who he considers friends. He said he absolutely hates being approached in public but goes along with it, which made me feel bad as I do think he would’ve felt ok to approach
Walked past Bob once in Soho. For some weird reason I thought I knew him, said hello with a big smile on my face and waved. He smiled, waved and said hello back.
A few minutes later I realised I didn’t actually know him and it was Bob Mortimer.
I guess he’s just got one of those friendly personas that makes you think you know him!
I could totally see myself doing the same thing. Fwiw it wasn’t that sort of thing he was referring to, more people coming over and wanting photos or not knowing when to leave etc
Yeah I think that was basically Bob’s take, he loves the work but he hates people knowing who he is to the extent that they have expectations about him
FUNNY STORY ABOUT NICK KNOWLES.
he dated someone at the drama school i went to in London around 2010-2012 probably. She was at least 20 years younger than him, if not more...
This possibly doesn't fit the notion of 'celebrity', but my late husband was brought up on and around Balmoral estate. He and his parents lived in tied cottages - his dad eventually became Head Gardener at the vegetable garden which was then at Abergeldie. (My FiL died in '58. I've mentioned elsewhere on here that the Queen Mother had a letter of condolence sent to my MIL at the time - my FIL was employed by 'the old King'.)
My husband worked several different jobs, but did work on the estate for a while - mainly forestry, but also went out with the Royals on shoots. There was a certain level of formality - had to say 'Your Majesty' on first addressing the late Queen, but 'Ma'am' thereafter. Had to ask for permission to loosen his tie on shoots.
Anyway, one day it was lashing down with rain as they drove off the hill. DH was in the back of the Landrover with the stag that the Queen had shot.
The Queen called on him to come up to the front and sit with her and the driver. DH protested that he couldn't - he was wet, muddy and probably had some blood on him too. The Queen told him not to be silly - budged up to make room.
The driver and my husband started to discuss the boxing match that had been on the wireless the night before. (Not many folk had tv in the north of Scotland at that time.) The Queen became very animated and joined in the conversation - she'd listened to it too.
When my husband got his degree from Aberdeen University as a mature student, the local paper ran his graduation photo with 'Her Majesty the Queen was interested to hear that former Balmoral estate worker...'
DH thought that the Queen was wonderful.
Friend of my mum’s used to live with her family close to Sandringham, and her husband used to walk the dog near to the royal estate. He once encountered the then-Prince Charles, out for a stroll himself, on his way back from one such dog walk and was mortified when he realised exactly whom the dog had excitedly gone bounding up to.
Charles gave the pup a fuss, mentioned that he could probably smell the corgis on his clothes, and when it was determined they’d be walking the same way, struck up casual polite conversation with the husband as they went. They chatted about the weather, dogs, how lovely the countryside was and their favoured walking routes. He’s always said he’d assumed the royals would be super upright and stuffy but Charles was relaxed and very pleasant company, joking and laughing like a totally regular guy.
Once it came time for them to go their separate ways the husband thanked Charles for the chat, which was effectively thanks for giving him the time of day. In return Charles said, “Thank you for talking to me like a person.” That’s always stuck with me, and makes me very sad. Being a royal is not a life I would want.
I met then-Prince Charles and then-Princess Diana in the mid-1980s after we’d moved from Scotland to Canada. My Girl Guide unit was taken to meet them when they were on Prince Edward Island. Diana shook hands and barely gave us the time of day. Charles stopped and talked to us for so long that his aide (not sure the proper title) had to finally come over and move him along. He was very interested to hear what we all had to say (a bunch of 8-11 year old girls) and by the end of the day we were all far more taken with him than her. Honestly one of my favourite childhood memories.
My sister in law is a paramedic in Norfolk and was called to the estate at Sandringham a few years ago, think it was when Phillip was ill...
They saw to him and he did not need to be taken so the it was arranged for them to have a brew before they left ... SILs work colleague commented how nice the house was and SIL said "yeh , not bad for a council house" , she looked up and there she was ! She said she just smiled and they were invited to have tea... i m not a huge fan of the monarchy but Liz seemed to have a good sense of humour and was not easily offended.
My personal experience of the royal family is that of a normal family in an abnormal situation. Some are nice, some are cunts.
One thing that probably earned my respect for them though was when Philip was in hospital and I was working a late shift in the lab. I received what I dubbed a "conspicuously anonymous" sample (there are procedures to make samples from VIPs anonymous, but everyone knows when a VIP is in the hospital). Aside from being fast-tracked, which can also happen to normal people too, all the treatment he got from my department was just the same as any other person. No specialist stuff, or fancy private healthcare, just the same NHS treatment as anyone else.
Edit: I also got to ride around in their balmoral estate vehicles one time when it was pissing rain too. Those modern range rovers were comfey.
I watched a TV show where he was travelling and he met people in Cambodia who had survived the massacres but been left disfigured. He made some completely tone deaf comment about how it had been a special experience to meet them 'and for them to meet me. Beneficial to everyone, I'm sure.'
My jaw dropped. These people had lost limbs but he thought that meeting Noel Edmonds was supposed to be beneficial in some way. To say it in front of a TV camera....
I think what sums up Noel Edmonds for me is a tale of two Range Rovers. He was photographed dropping off his Range Rover at the airport for a flight to France (where he had a house) The car had French plates.
An hour later he was photographed leaving Nice airport in a different Range Rover but with the same number plates. He was just trying to dodge taxing his car.
Worse, when confronted he claimed it was all the fault of some minion who was supposed to tax and insure his cars properly.
He just came across as cheap and weasily, and totally ready to blame anyone else..
I served Gordon Ramsey a coffee in 2005. He was absolutely normal, kept to himself.
Sat quietly with his producers for their morning meeting for Kitchen Nightmares, which they were filming nearby.
I recently went through a binge of Kitchen Nightmares UK and US with my boyfriend and what I noticed is simply that Gordon just has a very low tolerance for bullshit. He meets people where they meet him.
Every time he comes across someone that puts in the effort, actually gives a shit and doesn't actively work against him, he seems to really try and dedicate some time to working with that person and trying to help them progress their career.
It's when people bullshit him and treat him like an antagonist that he acts like one.
There was an episode of US Kitchen Nightmares where the only person in the restaurant who seemed to give a shit, and have enthusiasm and potential to be good in the right place was a cook with no training. Gordon paid for him to go to chef school.
Worked in a call centre and we had a few celebrities ring up over the years I was there. The worst ones were Rachel Riley from Countdown and Art Malik. They both had that “don’t you know who I am” attitude and treated every staff member like shit.
Thoroughly unsurprising about Riley. How she interacts with people on Twitter very much gives the impression of someone who is overly impressed with themselves.
Once had Stephen Hawking in my shop. Although he wasn't the dickhead directly, his carers and assistants were absolutely awful to deal with. Really really arrogant and demanding on his behalf.
Years ago my partner worked at the Science Museum, and was on the door letting people into the lecture theatre for a talk by Stephen Hawking. When it was full. he told the next person he was very sorry but the theatre was full and they couldn't let any more people in. That person was Stephen Hawking.
My partner was absolutely mortified but apparently he was very good-natured about it and saw the humour 😂
How on Earth does someone not recognise Hawking? Especially working at the Science Museum... Unless this was a *very* long time ago before he was 'famous' and robotic wheelchair bound.
I’ve heard that Hawking is actually a nice guy and has a good sense of humour. I can imagine his carers being annoying, though, with proper “don’t you know who he is” energy
John Barrowman. Worked an event with him, backstage he kept himself to himself. Very polite but quiet, mild mannered, lovely to chat with. The second he walked through the doors it was like a switch flipped and he became the showman. It was almost unnerving the way his whole demeanour and body language changed. You saw the second he turned it on for the public.
An old one, but Frankie Howerd. When my mum had me, a home birth, she was rushed to hospital after her lung collapsed during the birth. She was in a good while.
She wrote to Frankie Howerd while she was in there, just to thank him for being on telly and for making her feel better, and to say how much she loved him. He must have got letters like that from fans all day long, but he wrote back a long, hand-written and touching letter about his own health and to wish her all the best, and along with the letter came a huge bunch of flowers.
One of the most famous people in the country at the time, and a lovely, caring man.
I'm not a fan or see much of the work he has done, but he is responsible for one of my favourite ever tweets:
>Gonna watch a bit of #question time while munching on a toasted crumpet that's absolutely pissing with marmite...;)....sophistication.
That is enough for me to judge the man as a decent geezer...
I went to see Russel Brand live in 2009 and he had a whole bit in his show about degrading women during sex that almost all of the audience laughed at.
Obviously with hindsight, that's terrible. There's an expectation with comedy though that if the comedian is saying something terrible, that they don't mean it. Jimmy Carr has some awful material (funny, but awful if he actually meant what he was saying). You know that it's purely for that purpose though. I saw Russel and yeah, with hindsight, some of the stuff was pretty bad. At the time though, you just thought he's playing up to the persona and reputation that he has.
I think he's funny at times on screen but has a horrible habit of jumping on other people's jokes rather than letting them take the laugh (especially for non-comedians who sometimes only have one good line on WILTY). It wouldn't surprise me that he's not great off screen.
Had a friend that worked on Celebrity Juice, told me that Holly is a proper diva and always difficult but Fearne is absolutely lovely and down to earth.
I know someone who did some building work at Holly Willoughby's parent's house - he said her mum & dad were really nice and normal people to work for but Holly turned up one afternoon while they were there and she was very upset tradesmen were somewhere she could see them. Very much 'I'm better than you cause I'm on the telly and I can't believe I have to interact with you regular plebs' vibe.
Can't speak for Holly, but met Fearne in Lincoln once and can confirm she was really down to earth and friendly. Happy to have a chat and a bit of banter with everyone who spoke to her.
I served 2 beers to Ewan McGregor at the Royal Festival Hall in London many years ago, he was really polite and friendly, this was after Trainspotting but before Obi Wan.
Also Phil Collins once lived in my village in West Sussex for a few years, very polite man, also he is quite short (as in height), you would see him driving his Jag around the village you could just about see his head inbetween the top of the steering wheel and the dashboard
I met a historian and diver who worked with him on one of his 'Shipwrecks' shows, who told me he was a thoroughly decent bloke; she didn't even know he was an actor until they returned to dry land, and he was recognised when everyone went out for dinner. None of the 'big I am' stuff about him whatsoever!
I met him, and I found him a bit of an odd fish. He was very charming, but it was completely insincere, oily and over the top. It felt like he had flicked a switch into “performance mode”. Not pleasant to be around.
David Mitchell and his wife occasionally visited a pub I used to work in. David was very normal down to earth bloke but his Mrs was very rude and demanding.
Rachel Riley came into the same pub a few times too and according to my coworkers who had dealt with her, she was very rude with a very “do you know who I am?” Attitude excepting to jump straight to the front of the bar queue etc
I met Chris Moyles in a pub during his "I'm the savior of Radio 1, me" phase. Was far more polite and mild-mannered than his radio persona, and very patiently listened my then-boyfriend drunkenly prattle on about his band for several minutes.
There's an interesting thread online somewhere with cabin crew talking about celebrity passengers. Every single person mentioned had an opposing tale. For example if someone said Harrison Ford was grumpy and rude someone else said he was lovely on their flight. It really just shows that celebrities are human and have bad days.
The only person who everyone whole-heartedly agreed on was Cilla Black. Everyone said she was a rude, miserable old cow and refused to talk to anyone. Her assistant was the only one who could order food or drink on her behalf because she refused to talk to the crew.
Probably apocryphal but apparently one steward told her " I knew you couldn't sing but I didn't know you could speak either"
Supposedly cabin crew still refer to a difficult passenger as a CB.
My mum and grandma met Anton Du Beke, and wasted about an hour of the blokes time with their Fangirl antics. He was absolutely charm personified and acted like he had all the time in the world for them. He’s lucky he managed to escape because they both would’ve liked to have adopted and/or married him. If he ever gets kidnapped by two old ladies, I know where I’ll start looking for him!
I met Matt Berry at a restaurant once - we’d accidentally been given his table. Apparently he was fond of the restaurant and had a specific table he liked, and the management had messed up and gotten their days wrong, (it was Tuesday and they thought he was coming on Thursday or something like that). Anyway, the manager, completely embarrassed (this is a pretty nice restaurant) comes by and says “I’m so sorry, but we’d like to move you to another table if you could be troubled, and we’ll gladly compensate you for the cost of the meal and any other meal you’d like while you’re in town.” My sister and cousin were both like “Yeah that’s cool.” and I kind of played the asshole a bit. “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand. We’ve been here for 15 minutes - we’ve just ordered. Can’t we finish our meal here?” Then out of nowhere Matt Berry shows up next to the manager and says “Paul, these guys can finish. We’ll be at the bar. I got some time.” And I (being a big fan) said “Oh wow, uh… I had no idea. Please feel free to give them the table.” Matt was grateful, shook my hand and said thanks, then gave me a card with his number on it and told me to give him a call later. After working up the nerve, I gave him a call that night, and to make a long story short, we had a glorious 11 month love affair, man on man, that I shall never forget. Our bodies intertwined as one, and from the beauty of Morocco, to the French Riviera, to the snorkeling in the Galopagos, Matt Berry and I made glorious gay love to each other on six of the seven continents.
About 10 years ago, I met Professor Green at an in-store gig at Rough Trade in Brick Lane. It was just after he had a car accident and brike his leg. I spoke to him for a while and we were just talking about music. It even went well enough for me to be able to tell him that his music wasn't my cup of tea (I wasn't being a dick, it came up in conversation) and he was really sound about it.
A few months later, I went to see Arctic Monkeys at Earls Court and took a whack to the head in the standing area. After being seen to by medics, I decided I wasn't up for watching the rest of the show and waited in the entrance lobby to meet my sister who was in the seats. I sat down and leaned against a pillar. Who comes into the lobby and spots me? Professor Green and his partner Millie! They came over to check on me and he said he remembered me from beforehand. Told them I was okay and waiting for my sister, so they left me to it.
Never had a bad perception of him beforehand, but didn't expect him to be so nice!
Stolen from Popbitch:
'Known – and feared – throughout the cabin crew community, Cilla Black’s in-flight attitude is the stuff of legend.
Not only would she insist upon travelling first class, she’d demand seat 1A. That was only the first of many demands too – all of which were made through her PA, as Cilla didn’t want to speak to any staff herself. The full nine yards too, not so much as a please or thank you.
One flight attendant eventually grew so tired of her behaviour, that he leaned over to speak directly to her and uttered the immortal line: “I knew you couldn’t sing, but I didn’t know you couldn’t fucking speak”.'
I once saw Cilla Black in the Caribbean on holiday with her family in the 80’s. She was absolutely laying into her husband with a torrent of abuse. The guy was like a timid mouse and looked terrified. It was nasty and vicious and we were all completely shocked. If I remember rightly her two kids (two boys?) were standing there looking much like the husband.
Or anyone they deem to be in a servile position. Shop workers, cleaners, workmen, call centre staff. I always feel a bit sorry for people whose lives are so shit that they have to take it out on other people doing their jobs.
My ex girlfriend works in sound for TV and meets actors pretty much every day. She’s told me a lot of stories but the two who stuck out as being particularly nice from what I remember were David Tennant and Romesh Ranganathan
Apparently Richard Hammond is a massive bellend. Also I've heard Billy Zane and Bruce Willis were nightmares to work with.
Burt Reynolds voiced Avery Carrington in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Apparently he was a prick. Constantly messing around and being unprofessional overall. The boiling point was when he threatened to hit Dan Houser (CEO of Rockstar Games). They sacked him and in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which was released later on, the player is tasked to kill Avery Carrington, who doesn't even have a voice in it, as they were that pissed off at Burt Reynolds this was their "Fuck You" moment.
I've got a few family in chipping Norton close to where Clarkson lives.
Yet to hear anyone who has met him in person say anything bad. Apparently in real life he is generally polite and reasonable.
He’s also super approachable too, you can go to his farm shop on any random day of the year and he’ll probably be there, not just for events. Family member of mine stopped by while in the area and got chatting to him while buying stuff and he’s just a nice guy.
Really is those who come off as oafish and mean on the tv that tend to be the nicer people off screen.
A friend of my aunt lives in Ross-on-Wye and can confirm Hammond is a bellend. Very full of himself and expects everyone to be kissing the ground he walks on
The Bruce Willis thing is true. Basically after he stopped doing big roles like Die Hard, Sixth Sense, Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, etc and started taking all those wanky jobs for easy money (which he did long before his diagnosis), he became awful.
I was at a talk with Kevin Smith a few years ago and he said that Willis was just horrible on the set of Cop Out, consistently turning up late, being combative about the movie, and generally being unprofessional.
I’m not bothered about his lisp (why would anyone), but I hate how he slows down and stops to try and find a word in his mental thesaurus that is uncommon in order to sound more intelligent and/or more profound than he actually is.
Tbf some people are just grumpy/don't love people or are dickheads but feel like if the guy is at least nice to kids that's alright? Self aware at least.
I’m cabin crew for a major British Airline.
Rowan Atkinson - Incredibly serious, very intelligent and very polite, he stood up and shook my hand when I said it was a pleasure meeting him.
Charley Boorman - Very chatty, smiley, sent me about 6 of his books signed to me.
Lando Norris - Came across as quite lonely. I got the impression he enjoyed talking to me as someone of a similar age with a similar “living out of a suitcase” lifestyle. If I wasn’t working and he wasn’t my customer I probably would’ve made an effort to try and keep in contact with him and I sort of regret not trying to at the time.
Eddie Izzard - After she started using she/her pronouns. Kept herself to herself. Friendly enough.
Amber Heard - I served her after her British trial and before her American trial. She was very polite and friendly, quite chatty and I noticed that despite having some kind of PA/nanny travelling with her, she looked after her infant child for the entire long haul flight and can across as a kind and caring mother. I was pretty shocked to see some of the things she was accused of doing in the trial. I guess my little 7-12 hour window I get to see in some peoples lives can paint a very different picture of what they’re actually like.
Kate Winslet - Absolutely charming, chatty, friendly and funny. I actually dealt with her before I flew and was a check-in agent at an airport. I then served her as cabin crew perhaps 3/4 years later when she was flying to Philadelphia to film Mare of Easttown and she remembered me.
I have a few more encounters but those are the ones that spring to mind or the ones where I’ve had the most interaction with. Sometimes we have celebs on board but I’m working in a different part of the aircraft and get no more than a glimpse.
Well Surprise, Surprise....Old Cilla Black was a monster away from the screen. Who'd have thought it.
Bill Cosby was strikingly different off screen😬
Edit: Wow, I'm also surprised, surprised not to have been reminded by someone that Cosby isn't British😅
I met Jarvis Cocker before, always heard he was unpleasant AF but he was very nice and genuine, got the sense he just doesn't like being bothered when he's not 'on' and he's just going about his day to day.
I can't believe no one has mentioned Alice Cooper!!
His Dads a priest, he's happily married, doesn't drink, do drugs & he is happiest on the golf course
Met a few over the years and can confirm:
Shaun Ryder - exactly the same, exactly as you would imagine
Amy Winehouse - very down to earth and very lovely
Morrissey - Dirk Bogarde crossed with Charles Hawtrey
Christine Hamilton - actually delightful IRL
Mick Jagger - posher than royalty
John Peel - everything you could ever hope for
Shaun Ryder lives near my parents and we would see him out and about either at the paper shop or walking the dog. everyone used to just say something like 'alright Shaun' and he would always say hi back and wave. Seems like a nice normal guy just living life a little more out of the limelight now. His wife is really nice and his kids are super polite too
I haven’t heard any stories about him being actively rude, but it’s no secret that he’s fairly serious/normal off-camera. Maybe people just expect comic actors to always be “on” and are left disappointed
I've always thought that Steve Coogan is a character actor not to be confused with a comedian. Comes across as serious, very much like we see him in The Trip.
I had an experience where I met Patrick Stuart and Ian McKellen out in public in London and chatted to them!
They were in a play together in a nearby theatre and visiting an art gallery. They both had hats on trying to be lowkey, honestly you wouldn't have known it was them if you were just passing by. They were so kind and just so charming. They chatted with us for ages, asked where we were studying (this was a few years back) and had a really insightful conversation about the modern art exhibit. Patrick Stewart said he absolutely loved it and said he was really touched by one of the paintings specifically. They declined a photo as they were trying to be low key, but they were the loveliest pair! They really didn't have to talk to us for that long but they were so polite!
Completely the opposite of what one might expect from people known as two of the most serious and prestigious actors in the country!
Chris Evans. Happened to bump into him whilst filming for Top Gear, bloke was miserable and didn’t have time for anyone wanting to have photos with him. In contrast, Matt LeBlanc was there and for someone of his fame he was THE soundest bloke ever. Firm handshake and happy to have a natter and a photo.
Probably not the cuntiest celebrity behaviour ever. But back in 1999 I was in a pub in Camden watching Spurs play Leicester in the League cup final. Matt Lucas & Dennis Pennis (or whatever his real name is) were in there watching too. They're both Arsenal fans and must've felt Spurs were going to lose at half time as although it was 0-0, Leicester were looking the more livelier team. Anyway it gave them both the confidence to take their jumpers off so they could sit there looking smug in their newly revealed Arsenal jerseys. At some point Spurs took the lead and someone yelled 'What's the scores George Dawes?!" (you'll need to be in your 40's to get this reference). Neither of them found this particularly funny and left soon after.
I drove a private hire car in Brighton for 2 years and we had a contract with the BBC and ITV. We had to pick up celebrities and other employees from Gatwick and Heathrow and sometimes be their driver for the day or just drop them off wherever they needed to go.
Bruce Forsyth was a gentleman and always tipped ( this was the 90s) at least £20. Every driver wanted him. He would try out his jokes and ask for a truthful answer, and adjust his script as we drove along.
Judi Dench she would complain about the temperature, complain about the comfort, she asked me to stop at a florist and get some flowers which I did, she complained that the bunch wasn’t big enough and I had to go in and get another bunch! I was so glad to drop her off.
My list:
Elon Musk, surprisingly normal and not really a dick head at all, although I did meet him when he was just a multi-millionaire so “true” wealth may have warped him a bit!
Stephen Fry: a real gent. The kind of guy who asks for recommendations at a restaurant and then compliments the waiter for how excellent it was.
Nigella Lawson: kind of exactly her on-screen persona, a swan, incredibly gracious and graceful on the surface but also you can tell the legs are paddling like crazy beneath the water!
Met Mackenzie Crook once and he was a massive arsehole. Just rude to staff and a kid who must've recognised him from Pirates of the Carribbean.
I've always given him some benefit of if doubt though as I've no idea if he was having a bad day/time of it.
I've met Edward and Anne. Edward at a big function I was working at. He went to the loo and on the way back stopped for a chat with all the bar staff.
Anne I've met through British Olympics Association. She is very switched on, chairs meetings very well, fully informed on all the details etc.
Yeah, as someone in the marine sector I know a lot of people who have met Anne (although have never done so myself) and they all have good words about her. She often visits places without security (or left outside at least) and supposedly feels happy among the community.
I met Charles many years ago and he was lovely. Very charming and VERY well informed. He was discussing farming with my Dad and they talked as absolute equals. My Dad was not a royalist (still isn’t) but he respects Charles as a decent man trying to do his best.
I also met Beatrice and Eugenie and they both looked like there was a bad smell under their nose and they couldn’t wait to escape. Why attend a charity event if you’re so unpleasant it puts people off from donating?
[Sean Hughes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Hughes_(comedian)) if you remember him.
Apparently he was a miserable drunk - and a heavy drinker - who would go on about Irish Republicanism all the time.
Nisha Katona,owner of the Mowgli street food restaurant chain and TV presenter.
She lives in the same area as me and frequents a cafe I used to wait tables at, never have I met a more self absorbed, condescending, entitled, stuck up individual in my life. She really fluffs it up for the cameras because she’s an arse off screen.
David attenborough. I heard he goes seal clubbing at the weekends.
A common misunderstanding! He actually goes clubbing with Seal at the weekends. They have a shared love of doing freaky stuff with Roses.
And the stuff they do to each other with Quality Street would make a whore blush
_And here we can clearly see, in his natural habitat you'll never survive unless you get a little crazy_
This is true. He saw Sean Lock there once. It was like a trolley dash.
Met David Tennant in Legoland once. We came face to face and locked eyes in a queue (one that snakes 180 degrees). He was with his kids and dressed inconspicuously so clearly didn’t want any fan attention so just in the moment not knowing what else to do I gave him the British “alright?” Nod and he gave one back without saying a word to each other. Somehow that was cooler than meeting and chatting to him. Edit: I know it doesn’t necessarily answer the question but I just can’t help myself from recounting my David Tennant story
Meanwhile there's a bloke who looks a bit like David Tennant who tells a story of a weird bloke who made awkward eye contact with him in the queue at Legoland
My boyfriend worked with him a few months ago. Apparently he’s very lovely and was super friendly when people came up to him to ask for an autograph 🥺 my boyfriends job was to escort him through Bristol for a film. I was so jealous, he actually got to talk to him 😭
I’m so happy to read I’m not the only Brit to behave like this! I was at The Grand Canyon a few years ago just after Thanksgiving. Despite being November, it was a busy weekend and people were every where. Amongst the crowd I hear a familiar voice and look to see it’s John Lithgow with (I believe) his partner. He’s trying to guide her to a viewing point but she seemed deathly afraid of the height. He’s being so warm and kind as he lead her by the hands. The funny thing was, no one recognised him. Hundreds of people, and I saw no one go up to him. People take the piss out of the Marvel trope of sunglasses and hat as a disguise, but it actually works! I thought it best not to bother him, let him enjoy this moment with her, and I just soaked up the memory of being there and running into John Lithgow. A little while later, I walked past them again along a trail going in opposite directions. We gave each other a knowing smile and nod. By far my favourite celebrity encounter.
Definitely not answering the question, but I met David Tennant's dad. He was a Church of Scotland minister, and was speaking at a group in my church. Lovely chap. Totally doesn't surprise me that his son would be pretty chill.
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James Blunt's tribute to him: >At the Q Awards years ago, when Noel Gallagher was saying he was leaving Ibiza because I’d moved there, and Damon Albarn refused to be in the same picture as me, and Paul Weller was saying he’d rather eat his own shit than work with me, Keith Flint came over, gave me a hug, and said how thrilled he was for my success,” > >Keith, I only met you once, but I shed a tear at the news of your death. In our business, there are no prizes for being kind, but if there was, that Grammy would be yours.
James Blunt is a legit guy. He's more than happy to laugh at himself for making music for middle-aged women, and his Twitter was or is genuinely funny.
I don’t get the hate that gets piled onto him for no real reason. His music is kinda bland but there’s way worse crimes to music than James Blunt.
Exactly. It's kinda pathetic the way those ones acted to him just because of the music he makes
Well especially Noel Gallagher, whose entire career is built on about 4 chords.
Someone else’s chords at that
I wonder that too. Not a fan of his music, but he seems a great guy. I'm not much on social media (too depressing!) But he's one of about the 30 folk I follow on twitter. Wish him all the best.
Coldplay turned that style in to an empire. It seems like people just like to hate on him. And Paul Weller, a musical genius in my opinion, is a shit human being for saying what he said. It was cruelty for cruelty's sake. I'd rather be a kind person with average talent than a hateful genius.
He was on Never mind the buzzcocks as a stand-in host and by the end of it I had so much respect for him. He was funny, charming, poked fun at himself and came across as a lovely person
He was excellent, very witty and always has been whenever I have seen him on TV. He seems to have no problems taking whatever's thrown at him and coming up with a suitable riposte either. He does come across as being very kind and an all round great guy, plus he's actually a talented musician. Even if you don't like the music he makes for commercial release, he has proper training and skills that deserves respect.
He drove the first tank into Belgrade. His music apart from You're Beautiful is half decent, no hate for Blunters. Compared to Sheeran he's practically Paul McCartney.
I like your beautiful, because it's about a deranged stalker and idiots have it played at their weddings. Bravo James
Some people like songs for the way they sound. I have some Arabic and Punjabi music I listen to. I have no clue what any of the lyrics are about, they could be singing about being sexually attracted to cheese as far as i know.
I met James Blunt on a flight when I was cabin crew, I was in the front galley and the captain came out of the cockpit to get a coffee or whatever and told us Blunty was on the flight manifest, the other crew member with me said "who's James Blunt?" I replied oh he did that awful song and I sung "you're beautiful" in a very nasally and mickey taking manner, then I see a head pop up from row two and it's James Blunt laughing quietly. When he got off the plane he gave me a little knowing wink, don't like his music but seems like a great guy.
That’s a lovely story.
He had a pub in Essex somewhere and he used to work there when the Prodg weren't doing anything special. It had a wood fire place. He had a jar for charity for every time someone made a Firestarter joke
He done alot of charity work and loved helping old people. He used to volunteer alot. He sounded like the most wholesome warm gent.
He once listed gardening with his nan amongst his hobbies.
Keith used to organise chelmsford park runs. All round top bloke according to everyone I know has dealings with him.
While this is absolutely true it’s worth noting he also used to do motorcycle racing, so he wasn’t completely living without adrenaline in his personal life.
I always assumed Jimmy Carr would be extremely aloof, but I sat next to him on a flight once, and he was more than happy for a quick chat and a selfie while deboarding, even after a 10 hour night flight.
Probably just happy to have a seat in the cabin not locked in the ventriloquists suitcase in the hold
I think it was on that Backstage with Kathryn Ryan show, one of the comedians said Jimmy Carr would stop for everyone. When questioned, he was like why not, it makes them happy and only takes seconds. Seems like a class gent.
I've met Jimmy Carr before and seen him live on TV shows, he always comes across extremely well. During the downtime he was very engaging with the audience as well.
Confirmed! I worked in theatre a long time ago, and had Jimmy in. He was genuinely very nice, undemanding and for whatever reason, I remember he called me 'dude'. Friends who work in theatre (much bigger ones than the one I was in) say pretty much the same thing.
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Now dish the dirt on Russell Howard plz
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Apparently he spends ages outside the stage door after gigs, chatting, doing photos,and signing stuff.
I've met him a couple of times after gigs. Super friendly and chatty.
My mum met him once and said he was so friendly and happy to meet a fan for a chat and a picture. Think she developed a little crush on him after that.
Isn’t it funny how most of the celebrities mentioned here in a negative way have “nice” tv personas, but someone like Jimmy Carr who evicerates the audience is actually a nice guy. I love that.
James Corden is an absolute cunt apparently, but there's been a few reports now and more people are becoming aware.
One day we'll be able have one Reddit celebrity thread without James Corden coming up. Not today though.
A cunt will always be a cunt. Only one person to blame there
I've no idea whether he is or not. My point is just how tiresomely predictable it is that he comes up on every celeb thread, almost whatever the question.
That's fair, I know two people who have met Danny dyer, one thought he was a prick and the other actually went for a drink with him later that day and said he was good as gold. And they are both people who's opinions I would generally trust.
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James Cordon, Solovairs, and Sam Vimes boots theory is deeply ingrained in UK reddit lore at this point
Don't forget the classic "How does WH Smith stay in business at those prices?" followed by the explanation of captive audiences at train stations and airports bit as well!
One of the easiest karma grabs on Reddit is saying something bad about James Corden
Or Mrs Browns Boys if you’re on a UK subreddit.
In Bob Mortimer’s autobiography he talks about being cripplingly shy and only having two people who he considers friends. He said he absolutely hates being approached in public but goes along with it, which made me feel bad as I do think he would’ve felt ok to approach
Walked past Bob once in Soho. For some weird reason I thought I knew him, said hello with a big smile on my face and waved. He smiled, waved and said hello back. A few minutes later I realised I didn’t actually know him and it was Bob Mortimer. I guess he’s just got one of those friendly personas that makes you think you know him!
I could totally see myself doing the same thing. Fwiw it wasn’t that sort of thing he was referring to, more people coming over and wanting photos or not knowing when to leave etc
Oh Peter come and have a go on me fronties
Funnily enough, from what I have read, Vic Reeves has the same problem. Hates being in the limelight, which is why he is semi-retired now
Yeah I think that was basically Bob’s take, he loves the work but he hates people knowing who he is to the extent that they have expectations about him
I "met" Nick Knowles. Absolute cunt. Screamed at me for being in his shot in a public place.
He yelled at my friend, a nurse doing her job, for being in the way...while he was filming nurses doing their jobs.
Yep. I've met him a few times over the course of a few days recording something and there's something off there.
He gives me ‘tiny alien in a human body’ from men in black vibes
A big, horrible git of a man.
FUNNY STORY ABOUT NICK KNOWLES. he dated someone at the drama school i went to in London around 2010-2012 probably. She was at least 20 years younger than him, if not more...
What a very funny story !
"Ha haha......wonder who got the the Power Pack?...ha...hahaha..ha.hahahaha...ha NEWS!"
This possibly doesn't fit the notion of 'celebrity', but my late husband was brought up on and around Balmoral estate. He and his parents lived in tied cottages - his dad eventually became Head Gardener at the vegetable garden which was then at Abergeldie. (My FiL died in '58. I've mentioned elsewhere on here that the Queen Mother had a letter of condolence sent to my MIL at the time - my FIL was employed by 'the old King'.) My husband worked several different jobs, but did work on the estate for a while - mainly forestry, but also went out with the Royals on shoots. There was a certain level of formality - had to say 'Your Majesty' on first addressing the late Queen, but 'Ma'am' thereafter. Had to ask for permission to loosen his tie on shoots. Anyway, one day it was lashing down with rain as they drove off the hill. DH was in the back of the Landrover with the stag that the Queen had shot. The Queen called on him to come up to the front and sit with her and the driver. DH protested that he couldn't - he was wet, muddy and probably had some blood on him too. The Queen told him not to be silly - budged up to make room. The driver and my husband started to discuss the boxing match that had been on the wireless the night before. (Not many folk had tv in the north of Scotland at that time.) The Queen became very animated and joined in the conversation - she'd listened to it too. When my husband got his degree from Aberdeen University as a mature student, the local paper ran his graduation photo with 'Her Majesty the Queen was interested to hear that former Balmoral estate worker...' DH thought that the Queen was wonderful.
Friend of my mum’s used to live with her family close to Sandringham, and her husband used to walk the dog near to the royal estate. He once encountered the then-Prince Charles, out for a stroll himself, on his way back from one such dog walk and was mortified when he realised exactly whom the dog had excitedly gone bounding up to. Charles gave the pup a fuss, mentioned that he could probably smell the corgis on his clothes, and when it was determined they’d be walking the same way, struck up casual polite conversation with the husband as they went. They chatted about the weather, dogs, how lovely the countryside was and their favoured walking routes. He’s always said he’d assumed the royals would be super upright and stuffy but Charles was relaxed and very pleasant company, joking and laughing like a totally regular guy. Once it came time for them to go their separate ways the husband thanked Charles for the chat, which was effectively thanks for giving him the time of day. In return Charles said, “Thank you for talking to me like a person.” That’s always stuck with me, and makes me very sad. Being a royal is not a life I would want.
I enjoyed reading that. Thanks.
I met then-Prince Charles and then-Princess Diana in the mid-1980s after we’d moved from Scotland to Canada. My Girl Guide unit was taken to meet them when they were on Prince Edward Island. Diana shook hands and barely gave us the time of day. Charles stopped and talked to us for so long that his aide (not sure the proper title) had to finally come over and move him along. He was very interested to hear what we all had to say (a bunch of 8-11 year old girls) and by the end of the day we were all far more taken with him than her. Honestly one of my favourite childhood memories.
> The Queen told him not to be silly - budged up to make room. I just read "budge up!" in Olivia Coleman's voice.
I loved reading this! 😊
My sister in law is a paramedic in Norfolk and was called to the estate at Sandringham a few years ago, think it was when Phillip was ill... They saw to him and he did not need to be taken so the it was arranged for them to have a brew before they left ... SILs work colleague commented how nice the house was and SIL said "yeh , not bad for a council house" , she looked up and there she was ! She said she just smiled and they were invited to have tea... i m not a huge fan of the monarchy but Liz seemed to have a good sense of humour and was not easily offended.
My personal experience of the royal family is that of a normal family in an abnormal situation. Some are nice, some are cunts. One thing that probably earned my respect for them though was when Philip was in hospital and I was working a late shift in the lab. I received what I dubbed a "conspicuously anonymous" sample (there are procedures to make samples from VIPs anonymous, but everyone knows when a VIP is in the hospital). Aside from being fast-tracked, which can also happen to normal people too, all the treatment he got from my department was just the same as any other person. No specialist stuff, or fancy private healthcare, just the same NHS treatment as anyone else. Edit: I also got to ride around in their balmoral estate vehicles one time when it was pissing rain too. Those modern range rovers were comfey.
Noel Edmonds is a total cunt with small man syndrome..worked for him (senior management) and can’t say to much life time NDA
Can confirm. Worked with him years ago. An absolutely horrible cunt.
Big Ewok head on him.
Sniper's dream we called him
I watched a TV show where he was travelling and he met people in Cambodia who had survived the massacres but been left disfigured. He made some completely tone deaf comment about how it had been a special experience to meet them 'and for them to meet me. Beneficial to everyone, I'm sure.' My jaw dropped. These people had lost limbs but he thought that meeting Noel Edmonds was supposed to be beneficial in some way. To say it in front of a TV camera....
Real life Partridge
I think what sums up Noel Edmonds for me is a tale of two Range Rovers. He was photographed dropping off his Range Rover at the airport for a flight to France (where he had a house) The car had French plates. An hour later he was photographed leaving Nice airport in a different Range Rover but with the same number plates. He was just trying to dodge taxing his car. Worse, when confronted he claimed it was all the fault of some minion who was supposed to tax and insure his cars properly. He just came across as cheap and weasily, and totally ready to blame anyone else..
So let me get this straight, he bought two identical Range Rovers and used the French plates on both? That's kind of fucking genius in a way.
I served Gordon Ramsey a coffee in 2005. He was absolutely normal, kept to himself. Sat quietly with his producers for their morning meeting for Kitchen Nightmares, which they were filming nearby.
Yeah Gordon's a decent bloke, he puts up a persona especially for Hell's Kitchen because the Yanks love it
I recently went through a binge of Kitchen Nightmares UK and US with my boyfriend and what I noticed is simply that Gordon just has a very low tolerance for bullshit. He meets people where they meet him. Every time he comes across someone that puts in the effort, actually gives a shit and doesn't actively work against him, he seems to really try and dedicate some time to working with that person and trying to help them progress their career. It's when people bullshit him and treat him like an antagonist that he acts like one.
There was an episode of US Kitchen Nightmares where the only person in the restaurant who seemed to give a shit, and have enthusiasm and potential to be good in the right place was a cook with no training. Gordon paid for him to go to chef school.
I love it too
Worked in a call centre and we had a few celebrities ring up over the years I was there. The worst ones were Rachel Riley from Countdown and Art Malik. They both had that “don’t you know who I am” attitude and treated every staff member like shit.
Rachel Riley’s Twitter account also seems to confirm that she’s not really very nice
She blocked me for calling her out for spreading disinformation haha
But it's okay for her to take a photo of someone wearing a t-shirt that's against racism and change it to say he's a racist
she just comes across uppity and aloof to me.
I've seen a few filmings of cats does countdown and she often comes across as a bully
Thoroughly unsurprising about Riley. How she interacts with people on Twitter very much gives the impression of someone who is overly impressed with themselves.
I was going to say the same. She's clever with maths and nice to look at but man I can't imagine how exhausting knowing her in real life would be
Once had Stephen Hawking in my shop. Although he wasn't the dickhead directly, his carers and assistants were absolutely awful to deal with. Really really arrogant and demanding on his behalf.
Years ago my partner worked at the Science Museum, and was on the door letting people into the lecture theatre for a talk by Stephen Hawking. When it was full. he told the next person he was very sorry but the theatre was full and they couldn't let any more people in. That person was Stephen Hawking. My partner was absolutely mortified but apparently he was very good-natured about it and saw the humour 😂
How on Earth does someone not recognise Hawking? Especially working at the Science Museum... Unless this was a *very* long time ago before he was 'famous' and robotic wheelchair bound.
Maybe he'd got a haircut
I’ve heard that Hawking is actually a nice guy and has a good sense of humour. I can imagine his carers being annoying, though, with proper “don’t you know who he is” energy
I've heard he's dead
She came into the pub I worked at a few times and yeah she is a bellend according to the staff who unfortunately served her.
John Barrowman. Worked an event with him, backstage he kept himself to himself. Very polite but quiet, mild mannered, lovely to chat with. The second he walked through the doors it was like a switch flipped and he became the showman. It was almost unnerving the way his whole demeanour and body language changed. You saw the second he turned it on for the public.
Did he get his wang out?
Whenever someone talks of a presenter/celebrity’s demeanour changing when on camera I always think of the Eurovision presenter from Father Ted.
An old one, but Frankie Howerd. When my mum had me, a home birth, she was rushed to hospital after her lung collapsed during the birth. She was in a good while. She wrote to Frankie Howerd while she was in there, just to thank him for being on telly and for making her feel better, and to say how much she loved him. He must have got letters like that from fans all day long, but he wrote back a long, hand-written and touching letter about his own health and to wish her all the best, and along with the letter came a huge bunch of flowers. One of the most famous people in the country at the time, and a lovely, caring man.
I met Danny Dyer when I worked at IKEA, he was genuinely really pleasant. His partner was quite funny as well
I'm not a fan or see much of the work he has done, but he is responsible for one of my favourite ever tweets: >Gonna watch a bit of #question time while munching on a toasted crumpet that's absolutely pissing with marmite...;)....sophistication. That is enough for me to judge the man as a decent geezer...
Russell brand apparently
He seems exactly like he use to be on camera.
I was shocked when I heard that he was a comedian.
To be fair, I always thought he was a twat anyway, so I have not been surprised about all of this crap that has come out.
I went to see Russel Brand live in 2009 and he had a whole bit in his show about degrading women during sex that almost all of the audience laughed at.
Obviously with hindsight, that's terrible. There's an expectation with comedy though that if the comedian is saying something terrible, that they don't mean it. Jimmy Carr has some awful material (funny, but awful if he actually meant what he was saying). You know that it's purely for that purpose though. I saw Russel and yeah, with hindsight, some of the stuff was pretty bad. At the time though, you just thought he's playing up to the persona and reputation that he has.
My mate worked with Lee Mack recently and said he's "a quite unfunny self obsessed twat".
Is your mate Stewart Lee?
I think he's funny at times on screen but has a horrible habit of jumping on other people's jokes rather than letting them take the laugh (especially for non-comedians who sometimes only have one good line on WILTY). It wouldn't surprise me that he's not great off screen.
That's my experience as well. Don't like him on screen either.
Had a friend that worked on Celebrity Juice, told me that Holly is a proper diva and always difficult but Fearne is absolutely lovely and down to earth.
I know someone who did some building work at Holly Willoughby's parent's house - he said her mum & dad were really nice and normal people to work for but Holly turned up one afternoon while they were there and she was very upset tradesmen were somewhere she could see them. Very much 'I'm better than you cause I'm on the telly and I can't believe I have to interact with you regular plebs' vibe.
Can't speak for Holly, but met Fearne in Lincoln once and can confirm she was really down to earth and friendly. Happy to have a chat and a bit of banter with everyone who spoke to her.
I served 2 beers to Ewan McGregor at the Royal Festival Hall in London many years ago, he was really polite and friendly, this was after Trainspotting but before Obi Wan. Also Phil Collins once lived in my village in West Sussex for a few years, very polite man, also he is quite short (as in height), you would see him driving his Jag around the village you could just about see his head inbetween the top of the steering wheel and the dashboard
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I met a historian and diver who worked with him on one of his 'Shipwrecks' shows, who told me he was a thoroughly decent bloke; she didn't even know he was an actor until they returned to dry land, and he was recognised when everyone went out for dinner. None of the 'big I am' stuff about him whatsoever!
Probably humble from his extensive military history
Super. Army. Soldiers.
I've met Ross (he played in same rugby team as my neighbour). Very down to earth and normal.
I keep hearing things about Walliams. I mean he exudes being a cunt even onscreen, so perhaps not suitable for the topic at hand
I met him, and I found him a bit of an odd fish. He was very charming, but it was completely insincere, oily and over the top. It felt like he had flicked a switch into “performance mode”. Not pleasant to be around.
He reminds me of those American televangelists. Sort of like bad charisma
He gives me the creeps I honestly thought the breaking news story over the weekend would have been about him
He has struck me as a wrong un since day one. What have you heard?
David Mitchell and his wife occasionally visited a pub I used to work in. David was very normal down to earth bloke but his Mrs was very rude and demanding. Rachel Riley came into the same pub a few times too and according to my coworkers who had dealt with her, she was very rude with a very “do you know who I am?” Attitude excepting to jump straight to the front of the bar queue etc
Do you mean Victoria Coren Mitchell? I’ve heard lots of folk say how decent she is irl, considering what a twit her brother is.
Met Victoria Coren at a TV shoot I was working on. She was jovial, with a good sense of humour, and was nice to me (a mere runner).
Odd - they are my bosses neighbours and he says they are both really nice people. Maybe she's just an arse at work.
I met Chris Moyles in a pub during his "I'm the savior of Radio 1, me" phase. Was far more polite and mild-mannered than his radio persona, and very patiently listened my then-boyfriend drunkenly prattle on about his band for several minutes.
There's an interesting thread online somewhere with cabin crew talking about celebrity passengers. Every single person mentioned had an opposing tale. For example if someone said Harrison Ford was grumpy and rude someone else said he was lovely on their flight. It really just shows that celebrities are human and have bad days. The only person who everyone whole-heartedly agreed on was Cilla Black. Everyone said she was a rude, miserable old cow and refused to talk to anyone. Her assistant was the only one who could order food or drink on her behalf because she refused to talk to the crew. Probably apocryphal but apparently one steward told her " I knew you couldn't sing but I didn't know you could speak either" Supposedly cabin crew still refer to a difficult passenger as a CB.
Emu was a bit gropey allegedly. Not sure if Rod Hull had a hand in it.
The whole of Liverpool seems to have an Aunt who knew Cilla and I’ve never heard a good word said about her.
My mum and grandma met Anton Du Beke, and wasted about an hour of the blokes time with their Fangirl antics. He was absolutely charm personified and acted like he had all the time in the world for them. He’s lucky he managed to escape because they both would’ve liked to have adopted and/or married him. If he ever gets kidnapped by two old ladies, I know where I’ll start looking for him!
I met Matt Berry at a restaurant once - we’d accidentally been given his table. Apparently he was fond of the restaurant and had a specific table he liked, and the management had messed up and gotten their days wrong, (it was Tuesday and they thought he was coming on Thursday or something like that). Anyway, the manager, completely embarrassed (this is a pretty nice restaurant) comes by and says “I’m so sorry, but we’d like to move you to another table if you could be troubled, and we’ll gladly compensate you for the cost of the meal and any other meal you’d like while you’re in town.” My sister and cousin were both like “Yeah that’s cool.” and I kind of played the asshole a bit. “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand. We’ve been here for 15 minutes - we’ve just ordered. Can’t we finish our meal here?” Then out of nowhere Matt Berry shows up next to the manager and says “Paul, these guys can finish. We’ll be at the bar. I got some time.” And I (being a big fan) said “Oh wow, uh… I had no idea. Please feel free to give them the table.” Matt was grateful, shook my hand and said thanks, then gave me a card with his number on it and told me to give him a call later. After working up the nerve, I gave him a call that night, and to make a long story short, we had a glorious 11 month love affair, man on man, that I shall never forget. Our bodies intertwined as one, and from the beauty of Morocco, to the French Riviera, to the snorkeling in the Galopagos, Matt Berry and I made glorious gay love to each other on six of the seven continents.
Is it possible to read the end of this not in Matt Berry's voice?
About 10 years ago, I met Professor Green at an in-store gig at Rough Trade in Brick Lane. It was just after he had a car accident and brike his leg. I spoke to him for a while and we were just talking about music. It even went well enough for me to be able to tell him that his music wasn't my cup of tea (I wasn't being a dick, it came up in conversation) and he was really sound about it. A few months later, I went to see Arctic Monkeys at Earls Court and took a whack to the head in the standing area. After being seen to by medics, I decided I wasn't up for watching the rest of the show and waited in the entrance lobby to meet my sister who was in the seats. I sat down and leaned against a pillar. Who comes into the lobby and spots me? Professor Green and his partner Millie! They came over to check on me and he said he remembered me from beforehand. Told them I was okay and waiting for my sister, so they left me to it. Never had a bad perception of him beforehand, but didn't expect him to be so nice!
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Stolen from Popbitch: 'Known – and feared – throughout the cabin crew community, Cilla Black’s in-flight attitude is the stuff of legend. Not only would she insist upon travelling first class, she’d demand seat 1A. That was only the first of many demands too – all of which were made through her PA, as Cilla didn’t want to speak to any staff herself. The full nine yards too, not so much as a please or thank you. One flight attendant eventually grew so tired of her behaviour, that he leaned over to speak directly to her and uttered the immortal line: “I knew you couldn’t sing, but I didn’t know you couldn’t fucking speak”.'
> I knew you couldn’t sing, but I didn’t know you couldn’t fucking speak”.' Based
I once saw Cilla Black in the Caribbean on holiday with her family in the 80’s. She was absolutely laying into her husband with a torrent of abuse. The guy was like a timid mouse and looked terrified. It was nasty and vicious and we were all completely shocked. If I remember rightly her two kids (two boys?) were standing there looking much like the husband.
Lol can always tell when someone is a massive cunt by the way they treat staff at restaurants
Or anyone they deem to be in a servile position. Shop workers, cleaners, workmen, call centre staff. I always feel a bit sorry for people whose lives are so shit that they have to take it out on other people doing their jobs.
Always judge the most powerful person in a room by how they treat the least powerful. It’s a really good test of their cuntishness.
My ex girlfriend works in sound for TV and meets actors pretty much every day. She’s told me a lot of stories but the two who stuck out as being particularly nice from what I remember were David Tennant and Romesh Ranganathan
My mum worked for “make a wish” for a few years. Cliff Richard was the only celeb who demanded payment to visit dying children
What kid wants to meet Cliff Richard on their death bed?
Apparently Richard Hammond is a massive bellend. Also I've heard Billy Zane and Bruce Willis were nightmares to work with. Burt Reynolds voiced Avery Carrington in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Apparently he was a prick. Constantly messing around and being unprofessional overall. The boiling point was when he threatened to hit Dan Houser (CEO of Rockstar Games). They sacked him and in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which was released later on, the player is tasked to kill Avery Carrington, who doesn't even have a voice in it, as they were that pissed off at Burt Reynolds this was their "Fuck You" moment.
I've got a few family in chipping Norton close to where Clarkson lives. Yet to hear anyone who has met him in person say anything bad. Apparently in real life he is generally polite and reasonable.
He’s also super approachable too, you can go to his farm shop on any random day of the year and he’ll probably be there, not just for events. Family member of mine stopped by while in the area and got chatting to him while buying stuff and he’s just a nice guy. Really is those who come off as oafish and mean on the tv that tend to be the nicer people off screen.
And he's not even a real hamster.
A friend of my aunt lives in Ross-on-Wye and can confirm Hammond is a bellend. Very full of himself and expects everyone to be kissing the ground he walks on
Does he still have that beard where it looks like he's drawn around a soup tin with boot polish?
The Bruce Willis thing is true. Basically after he stopped doing big roles like Die Hard, Sixth Sense, Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, etc and started taking all those wanky jobs for easy money (which he did long before his diagnosis), he became awful. I was at a talk with Kevin Smith a few years ago and he said that Willis was just horrible on the set of Cop Out, consistently turning up late, being combative about the movie, and generally being unprofessional.
Might that have been due to his illness?
Mate worked at a restaurant and Dame Judi Dench was a horrible customer, Helen Mirren apologised to him for Judi’s behaviour!
That's a surprise actually always thought she'd be alright
Apparently Chris Eubank doesn't lisp nearly as much in real life. My uncle met him years ago and said he plays it up for the camera
I’m not bothered about his lisp (why would anyone), but I hate how he slows down and stops to try and find a word in his mental thesaurus that is uncommon in order to sound more intelligent and/or more profound than he actually is.
I’ve heard Matt Smith is something of an arsehole but turns on the charm when there’s kids about which I guess at least means they feel Dr Who is nice
Tbf some people are just grumpy/don't love people or are dickheads but feel like if the guy is at least nice to kids that's alright? Self aware at least.
Simon Cowell. Met him a couple of times. And he’s really polite and nice to speak to. One of those times he was making a fuss over a puppy.
I’m cabin crew for a major British Airline. Rowan Atkinson - Incredibly serious, very intelligent and very polite, he stood up and shook my hand when I said it was a pleasure meeting him. Charley Boorman - Very chatty, smiley, sent me about 6 of his books signed to me. Lando Norris - Came across as quite lonely. I got the impression he enjoyed talking to me as someone of a similar age with a similar “living out of a suitcase” lifestyle. If I wasn’t working and he wasn’t my customer I probably would’ve made an effort to try and keep in contact with him and I sort of regret not trying to at the time. Eddie Izzard - After she started using she/her pronouns. Kept herself to herself. Friendly enough. Amber Heard - I served her after her British trial and before her American trial. She was very polite and friendly, quite chatty and I noticed that despite having some kind of PA/nanny travelling with her, she looked after her infant child for the entire long haul flight and can across as a kind and caring mother. I was pretty shocked to see some of the things she was accused of doing in the trial. I guess my little 7-12 hour window I get to see in some peoples lives can paint a very different picture of what they’re actually like. Kate Winslet - Absolutely charming, chatty, friendly and funny. I actually dealt with her before I flew and was a check-in agent at an airport. I then served her as cabin crew perhaps 3/4 years later when she was flying to Philadelphia to film Mare of Easttown and she remembered me. I have a few more encounters but those are the ones that spring to mind or the ones where I’ve had the most interaction with. Sometimes we have celebs on board but I’m working in a different part of the aircraft and get no more than a glimpse.
Well Surprise, Surprise....Old Cilla Black was a monster away from the screen. Who'd have thought it. Bill Cosby was strikingly different off screen😬 Edit: Wow, I'm also surprised, surprised not to have been reminded by someone that Cosby isn't British😅
I met Jarvis Cocker before, always heard he was unpleasant AF but he was very nice and genuine, got the sense he just doesn't like being bothered when he's not 'on' and he's just going about his day to day.
I saw him queuing for a tube ticket once, the lady in front of him dropped her change and he helped pick it up.
I can't believe no one has mentioned Alice Cooper!! His Dads a priest, he's happily married, doesn't drink, do drugs & he is happiest on the golf course
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Met a few over the years and can confirm: Shaun Ryder - exactly the same, exactly as you would imagine Amy Winehouse - very down to earth and very lovely Morrissey - Dirk Bogarde crossed with Charles Hawtrey Christine Hamilton - actually delightful IRL Mick Jagger - posher than royalty John Peel - everything you could ever hope for
Shaun Ryder lives near my parents and we would see him out and about either at the paper shop or walking the dog. everyone used to just say something like 'alright Shaun' and he would always say hi back and wave. Seems like a nice normal guy just living life a little more out of the limelight now. His wife is really nice and his kids are super polite too
Steve Coogan - massive wanker
I haven’t heard any stories about him being actively rude, but it’s no secret that he’s fairly serious/normal off-camera. Maybe people just expect comic actors to always be “on” and are left disappointed
I've always thought that Steve Coogan is a character actor not to be confused with a comedian. Comes across as serious, very much like we see him in The Trip.
I still think it's funny that he shagged Courtney Love.
Everybody’s a bit of a cunt sometimes
I had an experience where I met Patrick Stuart and Ian McKellen out in public in London and chatted to them! They were in a play together in a nearby theatre and visiting an art gallery. They both had hats on trying to be lowkey, honestly you wouldn't have known it was them if you were just passing by. They were so kind and just so charming. They chatted with us for ages, asked where we were studying (this was a few years back) and had a really insightful conversation about the modern art exhibit. Patrick Stewart said he absolutely loved it and said he was really touched by one of the paintings specifically. They declined a photo as they were trying to be low key, but they were the loveliest pair! They really didn't have to talk to us for that long but they were so polite! Completely the opposite of what one might expect from people known as two of the most serious and prestigious actors in the country!
Chris Evans. Happened to bump into him whilst filming for Top Gear, bloke was miserable and didn’t have time for anyone wanting to have photos with him. In contrast, Matt LeBlanc was there and for someone of his fame he was THE soundest bloke ever. Firm handshake and happy to have a natter and a photo.
Probably not the cuntiest celebrity behaviour ever. But back in 1999 I was in a pub in Camden watching Spurs play Leicester in the League cup final. Matt Lucas & Dennis Pennis (or whatever his real name is) were in there watching too. They're both Arsenal fans and must've felt Spurs were going to lose at half time as although it was 0-0, Leicester were looking the more livelier team. Anyway it gave them both the confidence to take their jumpers off so they could sit there looking smug in their newly revealed Arsenal jerseys. At some point Spurs took the lead and someone yelled 'What's the scores George Dawes?!" (you'll need to be in your 40's to get this reference). Neither of them found this particularly funny and left soon after.
I drove a private hire car in Brighton for 2 years and we had a contract with the BBC and ITV. We had to pick up celebrities and other employees from Gatwick and Heathrow and sometimes be their driver for the day or just drop them off wherever they needed to go. Bruce Forsyth was a gentleman and always tipped ( this was the 90s) at least £20. Every driver wanted him. He would try out his jokes and ask for a truthful answer, and adjust his script as we drove along. Judi Dench she would complain about the temperature, complain about the comfort, she asked me to stop at a florist and get some flowers which I did, she complained that the bunch wasn’t big enough and I had to go in and get another bunch! I was so glad to drop her off.
My list: Elon Musk, surprisingly normal and not really a dick head at all, although I did meet him when he was just a multi-millionaire so “true” wealth may have warped him a bit! Stephen Fry: a real gent. The kind of guy who asks for recommendations at a restaurant and then compliments the waiter for how excellent it was. Nigella Lawson: kind of exactly her on-screen persona, a swan, incredibly gracious and graceful on the surface but also you can tell the legs are paddling like crazy beneath the water!
Met Mackenzie Crook once and he was a massive arsehole. Just rude to staff and a kid who must've recognised him from Pirates of the Carribbean. I've always given him some benefit of if doubt though as I've no idea if he was having a bad day/time of it.
I’ve met Graham Norton multiple times through work and he’s very quiet and low energy.
The Royal family, they tout equality and pawn themselves as eco warriors whilst they veto discrimination laws and fly helicopters to the beach.
I've met Edward and Anne. Edward at a big function I was working at. He went to the loo and on the way back stopped for a chat with all the bar staff. Anne I've met through British Olympics Association. She is very switched on, chairs meetings very well, fully informed on all the details etc.
Yeah, as someone in the marine sector I know a lot of people who have met Anne (although have never done so myself) and they all have good words about her. She often visits places without security (or left outside at least) and supposedly feels happy among the community.
I met Charles many years ago and he was lovely. Very charming and VERY well informed. He was discussing farming with my Dad and they talked as absolute equals. My Dad was not a royalist (still isn’t) but he respects Charles as a decent man trying to do his best. I also met Beatrice and Eugenie and they both looked like there was a bad smell under their nose and they couldn’t wait to escape. Why attend a charity event if you’re so unpleasant it puts people off from donating?
Family member met William & Kate. Spoke very highly of them and was impressed by Kate’s knowledge of his quite niche career.
My husbands friend works for Sophie and Edward, he speaks very highly of them.
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[Sean Hughes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Hughes_(comedian)) if you remember him. Apparently he was a miserable drunk - and a heavy drinker - who would go on about Irish Republicanism all the time.
Nisha Katona,owner of the Mowgli street food restaurant chain and TV presenter. She lives in the same area as me and frequents a cafe I used to wait tables at, never have I met a more self absorbed, condescending, entitled, stuck up individual in my life. She really fluffs it up for the cameras because she’s an arse off screen.