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)

I queued outside a phone box and the guy using the phone was Jamie Redknapp (obviously a very long time ago!)

Stayed in hotel along with the Williams F1 team and was flirting outrageously with this cute mechanic. He was lovely and when I saw him again in the morning he gave me a huge smile and a wink. When I got back to work was telling a friend who is a big F1 fan and said I'd only be able to pick Damon Hill out of a line up. So she googled - and my mechanic was Jacques Villeneuve - who was World Champion at the time and going out with Danni Minogue. I was mortified 😂😱

A childhood friend's dad was quite well known in the music industry, for writing music for film and tv. They used to throw great Christmas parties and one time Richard Attenborough attended.

I only knew who he was (I was a young teen) because my parents pointed him out like I should know him. It didn't mean much to me. I remember vaguely him holding court with other guests being quite loud.

Same friend also was best friends with the girl who became Benedict cumberbatch's wife. We went to a few parties together and I remember how pretty and confident she was. I was a shy not very confident teen who went to a different school.

Lost touch with said friend for various reasons.

That's about my only brush with fame.

My friend was at Brighton train station and saw a girl he recognised waiting outside the toilet, while he too was waiting for his friend. This was a few years ago - we must have been about 20? And he assumed she was someone from our town’s very active bar and club scene who he had met on some nights out but couldn’t remember the name of (we all had lots of friends like this back in the day! People we bumped into, chatted to and even occasionally became temporary best friends with on nights out but never saw or spoke to in daylight hours).

He was chatting away and she was chatting back - normal, friendly conversation. He said she was nice and gave no indication that she didn’t know him. (Making general small talk along the lines of how she has been, where she is headed, and she was reciprocating and chatting away in return.)

Anyway, her boyfriend headed out of the toilet and came to ask if she was ready to leave. My friend was stunned to see James Cook (the British actor, at the time famous for his role in Skins - I say famous, it wasn’t that big of a show, but he went on to be in some big roles!) and my friend suddenly had the realisation that the girl he had been talking to actually wasn’t an acquaintance but was Kaya Scodelario, who at the time played Effy in Skins (again, not that big of a role but went on the be in Pirates of the Caribbean and some other big roles!)

I always wondered whether Kaya vaguely thought she knew my friend because he was talking to her with such familiarity and that’s why she was so nice back - like did she too think he was someone she had met on a night out or at a party or something? Or did she just think he was a fan and is always that nice to fans?

Brighton seems to have a lot of celebrities living there, I walked past Daniel Radcliffe in a park there, he was working on a theatre performance and looked like he was out for a stroll, my DD was with me and spotted him, this was many years ago, and she had a kind of crush on him so was delighted.

Chris Eubank and Katie Price both had very distinctive cars, and often seen driving around Brighton, chris had a sort of truck and Katies was bright pink! Again this was years ago so probably dont drive them now.

I was walking home from the station in central London. There was a huge crowd - I think the nearby theatre had an emergency fire evacuation. I got stuck in the crowd and realised I was standing right next to a very famous footballer with his wife and kids. I couldn't not speak to him. He was really nice.

In that case he was hardly a celebrity, having said that I’m proud to admit that I’ve never seen Big Brothers.

Who?

who?

who?

Went for a meal with an ex and some of his friends, and his friends friend was there, ended up sat next to him, chatted about different things but not once did he bring up who he was or what he did, asked me all about myself and what I did, it was Tim Minchin. Really nice guy to talk to!

I'm convinced that if a 'famous' person, or a 'celebrity', doesn't want want to recognised and pestered, they won't be - and I've come across quite a few in my life. And it's not about wearing a hat and sunglasses. It's just going about your life as everyone else does. Particularly if they live in, say, London. If they get bothered by people it's because they've chosen to be. Otherwise they can go about their normal business, whilst people say, "That person looks just like so-and-so", and than carry on with whatever they're doing. I'm convinced I saw Harold Wilson coming out of a pub in York in the 80s with a couple of minders, when I was on a lunch break, but I'll never know. He looked at me, I looked at him, and we went our separate ways.

@DunkingMyDonuts According to Google he gets around $20m a movie. We're talking a huge star.

Who?

So why don't you just tell us who it is? How will it make you identifiable, if that's what you're worried about?

@DunkingMyDonuts because I divulged some really personal info on here under this name several days ago and lots of people know who this is in my RL. I have no problem telling you, but I don't want people to know that other stuff, even when that is such a small possibility.

I was going to say this too 🤣

I would have died on the spot 😭

I've had a couple of instances myself, but none as big as DH so I'll relay his...

DH works as a rural land agent and, many years ago, had to run grouse shoots on a private country estate. He was quite used to this sort of thing - it was generally City types coming for corporate away days.

About 15 years ago, the Estate landowner set up some kind of exclusive two day shooting rights - and it was DHs job to spend the two days welcoming them, showing them round the estate, and having lunch with them.
Basically, this cost a small fortune, so was exclusively for the very wealthy.

After day one, DH came home and told me he'd spent the day with an Australian woman who, as it turned out, was a natural at shooting.
After day 2, when he'd had more extended conversation with her, it transpired he'd only just spent the last two days with Elle Macpherson!!

Benedict Cumberbatch…. I was working at a big 4th July bash in London and I thought he was a waiter, I asked him to hand out popcorn for me whilst I went and had a sneaky dance to Duran Duran 😳

Yes, he is very dishy.

How does a soup look amazing?

I'm 100% with you.

Once greeted a Corrie actress (I don't know her name, was 20yrs ago) like an old friend. She was short with me and I realised I didn't know her at all but now had to greet all customers like long lost friends so she didn't think I was quite such an idiot!

Same pub told Chris chattel (Eric pollard from Emmerdale I think) to go and get a drink and I'll see if I could find him a table. When I took menus over he asked if I'd managed to fit him in. I replied that no I'd just brough the menus over so that he could see what he could have eaten 🙈 when someone told me who he was I was so embarrassed that I was cheeky to him!

Also had to charge a group for extra cleaning when they p*ssed the bed. It was some of the cast of Waterloo road (I think one of them was Jill halfpenny)

We also had Eliza Doolittle stay (she wouldn't leave!) Corrine bailey Rae ate with us, someone from heartbeat, minor local news broadcasters and Tony Blair's dad. No idea why we were so popular!