Have you ever been in the company of a celebrity and not even realised.

[Jenasaurus]

I was discussing scallops with a friend who couldn't understand my dislike of seafood when a memory of being forced to eat one surfaced.

My 28-year relationship had ended, and I was asked on a date by a new man, we were spending time together getting to know each other, anyway we went on a romantic break, and I arrived by train before him as he had to run a youth club that night and would join me at about 9. So, I wandered around this amazing hotel alone and found myself in the cocktail bar watching a cocktail making demonstration. This was a very trendy place, (MyHotel, Brighton) and the toilets were unisex, when I went in this man made a joke to me about it, I went in and there was a very drunk lady in there who I helped out. It turns out she was his girlfriend, he looked familiar, and I couldn't work out why, but realising I was on my own they invited me to join then, we had a few drinks and then they invited me to join them for dinner, I checked with my date, but he was running late so agreed. We went to this amazing restaurant and when we went in, all the people rushed up to greet him, this was a little odd, I was striking up a great bond with his girlfriend and they were interested in my date and how we met (thats a story for another time).
Anyway, it turned out he was a Channel 4 TV presenter from how to make your first million, I don't watch the show, but he looked familiar, then comes the scallop part...he had paid for all this food and I didnt have the heart to say I find eating a scallop like a food challenge from I'm a celeb and ate it with a fake smile on my face! I was so proud of myself for enduring that challenge that most would consider a treat.

Anyway, we got back to the hotel and my date was still not there, so I mentioned to them we had the penthouse suite and there was a fairground antique horse in the bedroom, they wanted to see it, so I showed them around (apparently snoop dog had the same suite when he stayed - I got it for £99 from Secret escapes so a good deal). They came up and noticed the bath water in the bath, I said I couldn't work out how to let it out, so he put his hand in and let it out for me...his girlfriend giggled and said "I can't believe you have just put your hand in someone Elses dirty bath water"

Later my date arrived, and I introduced them, they told him off for leaving me waiting so long, his girlfriend gave me her number and said to keep in touch, muttered she didnt like my date and they left! My date is convinced they had planned to have an evening of swinging but the girl didnt fancy him!!

What are your stories of being in the company of someone you were expected to know but totally unaware. The bar tenders said to me "how do you know martin?" I said "I dont really", apparently as well as the show 'How to make your first million' he owned a lot of the nightclubs and bars in Brighton in the 80s (probably how he made his first million)

My DD does it all the time.She works as a researcher in radio and has to create briefs for presenters and prepare celebs to come on air etc. Shes young and doesn’t recognise names and certainly not faces of 70’s and 90’s pop stars. Usually I’m near to fainting with excitement that she’s spoken to / met these people and it’s completely passed her by. ‘They’re just normal people mum’ is what I usually get told.

Same with my dd.
She works in a museum and in the holidays celebrities often bring their dc to an event she’s running.
Sometimes she may recognise a person but as her job is to focus on the dc that’s what she does.
Once she presented an event and then dashed off to supervise another activity.
A person she vaguely recognised came over with his family and said to dd
‘We’ve seen you before haven’t we.’
Dd realised he meant at the previous event.
However a colleague told her later that he was a popular actor, she had heard of him, I hadn’t and have forgotten his name.
Dd was amused though that he recognised her and not vice versa.

I've got one of these stories, I wrote about it before. I started a new hobby, one where we have a table each. I got to know the very handsome chap at the next table quite well - but only within the sphere of our hobby. I don't have a tv & don't listen to the radio either so I had no idea who he was. Something about him though piqued my interest. No one else in the group batted an eyelid ever so I was completely in the dark. As he was single I thought about asking him if he fancied a casual coffee sometime? Then I googled his name & arghhhh shit. Super famous, super eligible. I ran a mile. I don't want any publicity in my life I'm very very happy being unknown & living under the radar.

This is the best by far!

Chatting away to a customer, older guy who was quite flirtatious, came out of the cabin and remarked to the lads that he reminded me of Jimmy Nail, turned out it was him!

Another time, took a customer home to get his car keys and brought him back to work, again chatting away oblivious, this one was Shola Ameobi!

Well we were at a uni open day with Jack Dee and his family a few years ago, but I recognised him straight away.

Hahah nice one Liz!

My cousin’s wedding - to be fair peppered with a fair few well known faces as her other half works in showbiz. But it was a low key, lovely celebration. I arrived at the village hall and my daughter who was 4 at the time, was like a loose cannon, charging about as she was so excited to be at her first wedding. She ran slap bang into a woman, who I recognised but genuinely thought we had met before on the hen night or something. So I said “Oh hello - how are you? How lovely to see you - apologies for my kid bashing into you. What have you been up to?” She looked at me blankly, muttered “Er hello” and disappeared. Then almost instantly the penny dropped and I realised it was Victoria Hamilton, one of my favourite actresses (Lark Rise to Candleford etc)
She must have thought that I was a right knob! Redeemed myself later by managing to have a good laugh in the queue for food with David Tennant and his wife, like normal people. Quite an extraordinary evening of star spotting for my wider completely ordinary family, but a great party where everyone just sort of got on (once you got over the “ooh it’s so and so” thing!)

I once encountered Jack Dee at a school event but didn't recognise him. I knew I knew him from somewhere though, so I smiled and said 'Oh hello!' He looked pretty grumpy and didn't reply and then the penny dropped. I would have been amazed if he'd been smiley and friendy though. Not his persona.

At my Saturday job as a student. Apparently I'd just served a soap 'star' I think they said he was called Jim in the programme.

A woman came to my house for banjo lessons after her husband purchased 4 pre-paid lessons. She introduced herself as Ellie and after a while my daughter kept hanging around by the door and offering cups of tea. We had one about half through the lesson as she liked Earl grey. After she left my daughter said "you know who that was Dad" "No never seen her before" I said " Ellie Harrison" from Countryfile" my daughter explained. Fair play she was a delightful person and had a natural talent for the instrument.

Not that famous but was more at the time. many years ago my parent’s friend was coming to stay. She got a taxi from the station to our house. When I opened the door Peter Beardsley the Newcastle player appeared to the driving the ‘taxi’. She tried to pay him, and he told her he wasn’t a taxi driver but had had some time to kill and had been happy to drive her. She got out thinking it was all a bit odd ( it kind of was!). Was even more baffled when we told her he was an ex Newcastle United player.

Dec (from Ant and Dec) and his then girlfriend Claire something from 2.4 children

In a hotel lift on holiday in the Bahamas.

We got out of the lift and family going mad, omg it's Dec, it's Dec.
I'm looking around going 'ooh where?' Too late.

Saw him loads after that around the pool, they were there the full same fortnight as us. Poor bloke didn't get a moment's peace from the surprising amount of British guests at this place! 🤣

My dad told me about a flight he was on coming back from Ireland. There was clearly a celeb on the flight. She was very demanding, very much of a diva. The man sitting next to dad told him it was Lisa Stansfield. He then went on to have a lovely long chat with the man about fishing and fly-tying and was impressed that this man had his own fishing lake in Ireland. Came home full of how he had been on a plane with Lisa Stansfield. Was months later, when he saw Chris de Burgh on tv that he realised that is who he was sitting next to.

So who was the celebrity op?

Around 25 years ago I was helping at an award ceremony that my step-father’s company was running. It had been a long day setting things up and had a surreal moment watching Bjorn Again rehearsing without their ABBA costumes earlier that day (not relevant, just a funny memory).

Anyway, on the actual evening at one point my SF asked me to go and get John Inverdale as he was due to present his segment and I asked what JI looked like.

“The man you were chatting to earlier”.

“Oh” says me, “the one with the gorgeous eyes?” Of course, once I knew he was famous, I could barely string two words together, like the idiot I am!

He was a very nice man though.

Want those two American hikers at Balmoral who got the queen to take a photo of them with her body guard 'because he knew the queen' to post. No one will ever beat their story.

Yeah, I thought so too. :)

Daley Thompson was sat next to my dad on a sofa in a coffee shop, this was many years ago. The staff told my dad afterwards, dad had jyst sat reading his paper completely oblivious

Misery guts - I bet you’re great fun at a dinner party.

Lighten up is my advice

Once sat next to Ricky Hatton at a Man City match at Maine Road. Had no clue who he was until he was presented with some award on the pitch at half time.
He probably has a private box these days.

Was in a pub in Fulham having leaving drinks for a friend who was going travelling.
We were taking loads of pictures.

And a bloke stomped off shouting about his privacy.

Apparently he was a former Home and Away actor.

I laughed at the thought of a Home &Away star stomping off but Shouting about his privacy. Leaving quietly would draw too much attention, I guess lol.

The only people I've heard of on here are Ant and Dec, David Beckham and Matt Hancock, so I've probably spent an entire lifetime of talking to "celebrities" and not realising it.

I was sat behind the metal band 'Saxon' on a train once. My battery ran out on my ipod and I realised they were talking all about a gig they were doing and set lists and things like that. I'd never heard of them, but my dad is a metal head and thought it was exciting when I told him.