Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Anyone met a celebrity and they haven’t been how you expected?

628 replies

Everdeen80 · 18/09/2023 14:35

I guess from all the RB threads…a lot of people saying that they are appalled but not exactly surprised.

so I wondered - anybody met anyone well known and they were NOT how you expected? For good or bad?

I had a very strange and brief encounter with one of my favourite actresses a couple of years ago and it was not what I expected at all! Made me realise of course we don’t know these people at all. Any other stories?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
Unicorn34 · 04/10/2023 09:27

SoShallINever · 04/10/2023 09:26

We were standing next to Tyson Fury (and his little girl) at a motorway station coffee shop recently. Recognised him instantly, he is absolutely huge, I'm not remotely into boxing but that man is HOT.
He was very polite and worked hard to keep his little girl entertained in a long queue.

My friend worked with his family and was given tickets to see him fight in the US, all expenses paid. Unfortunately she wasn't allowed to go due to company rules around accepting gifts, watched the fight on the TV and saw her ringside seats empty and sad!!! She said he was a gent.

Stressedafff · 04/10/2023 09:32

I used to work in a clothes shop in Manchester. Eileen Grimshaw and Anna Windass off Corrie were beyond rude, so so ignorant

Ricky Hatton almost ran me over near his gym once 🤣 but he’s a nice guy

Lookingoutside · 04/10/2023 09:32

Pablova · 04/10/2023 00:54

@Myneighboursarewankers
Mcjagger ? 😀

😂😂😂

BlueMongoose · 04/10/2023 09:33

SecondClassReturnToDottinghamPlease · 03/10/2023 10:31

He wasn't when I met him. He was a sexist prick. As expected.

Show quote history

Aye, a friend in the industry found him very unpleasant.

Lifeomars · 04/10/2023 09:34

Myneighboursarewankers · 03/10/2023 23:24

Danny divito - lovely
Simon cowell & Amanda Holden lovely
alisha Dixon - really nice
bill Wyman - nice but I was young and was a brief encounter
robbie Williams - nice guy

i have a long list of people iv met and the only one I can remember being an utter twat was fazer from n-dubs. I wasn’t a fan anyway but he was a complete wank stain.

my mum met mcjagger (?) when she was little and helped him find his flight in France as he didn’t speak French. He gave her a card he signed and she swapped it at school for a cup cake.

Is "Mcjagger" Mick Jagger? He speaks fluent French, to the extent that he can conduct interviews in the language. Maybe he learnt it as an adult

BlueMongoose · 04/10/2023 09:35

RecklessBlackberries · 04/10/2023 08:16

Jennifer Saunders- very rude. I worked in a bank actioning account closures. Her banker had messed up and I had to call her. She kept telling me there was no error and the account was already closed. It kept popping up in my list of cases to resolve so we had horrible conversations about five times before she actually fixed the issue.

Will Young- met him twice and both times he was an arse. Once in a small bar with a narrow passage behind the barstools. Rather than ask me to move slightly, he violently shoulder barged through, pushing me right into the bar. Another time we saw him at a student night in a gay club (he would have been at least 30 then). I happened to turn my head to the person next to me and must have had some flicker of recognition because he went "NO I WONT TAKE A PHOTO".

I'd have been tempted to ask him why on earth he thought I'd want one.

MarkWithaC · 04/10/2023 09:36

Not remotely surprised to hear that Andy Murray is lovely - nothing about him suggests he wouldn’t be! Love his understated feminism.
Yes. I love how dry he is. And he's one of very few men in the public eye who actually demonstrate feminism. I've nothing but respect for him. And for Judy, who obviously drummed it into him!

I'd forgotten, I haven't met but had to deal with John Humphrys on the phone ages ago. He was a tit. Aggressive and combative for the sake of it. Just like you'd expect really.

I'd love to encounter James Norton. I recently listened to him on Comfort Eating with Grace Dent and he was just adorable.

Kate8889 · 04/10/2023 09:38

Anthony Rapp from RENT...I wasn't feeling very well the day of the meet and greet and accidentally threw up on him because it was a long wait and I thought I was fine. He was very kind but also seemed sad about his career being pretty much over.

sadeyedladyofthelowlandsea · 04/10/2023 09:41

Oooh! I forgot I'd met Delia at the football a few years ago. She is genuinely lovely, hugged everyone, laughed, chatted, and just had a really lovely warmth to her. It didn't feel forced or like she was performing at all. Very infectious giggle too. She is the queen of East Anglia as far as I'm concerned.

Wolvesart · 04/10/2023 09:44

MojoMoon · 04/10/2023 09:05

James Cracknell - awful, snobbish, clearly only interested in talking to rich men or stunningly beautiful women. Everyone else was clearly unworthy.

It is no surprise to me that he is standing to be a Tory MP.

He did a masters at Cambridge around the same era he did Strictly. The DH - fellow at same college- had no idea who he was or why people kept mentioning he was a student (not same subject as DH) at the college. This put his celebrity as a retired sportsman in context really.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 04/10/2023 09:45

My aunty donna met worzel gummidge at a parade when she was a girl. He was a drunkard who stank of alcohol, put her off the show completely

Method acting?! Grin

OrlandointheWilderness · 04/10/2023 09:45

Medusaismyhero · 03/10/2023 19:13

Already been mentioned but Princess Anne is a legend. Charming, engaging and totally dedicated to visiting all sorts of boring community/education venues and actually seeming to care about what they do.

She's also insanely petite and beautifully dressed. Just pure class. Love her.

Oh yes I've met her and she was everything you hope she would be. My DM met her again a couple of months back and spent an hour with her and is completely starstruck by how wonderful she is. She is committed to her projects, remembers people and is just a classy lady.

Happyhappy10 · 04/10/2023 09:58

Yes. Kelly Holmes!

I loved her when I was a child and would always watch her on TV (way before she won gold etc). I couldn't wait to meet her when she visited my work to do a 'meet and greet' and talk about her life.

What a disappointment. She was cold and strangely for an adult, quite stroppy. She was rude to her staff. It was very strange. The only time I saw her smile was when she was talking about herself on stage.

I know people have off days and they aren't performing seals but this was another level.

CaveMum · 04/10/2023 09:58

@abs12 what a wonderful experience with a true legend.

Not surprised to hear how lovely Andy Murray is - the man has his head screwed on (see his cutting remarks to journalists who ignore the achievements of female tennis players) and has a wicked sense of humour judging by his turn on “Rob and Romesh”.

goodbyestranger · 04/10/2023 10:11

Already been mentioned but Princess Anne is a legend. Charming, engaging and totally dedicated to visiting all sorts of boring community/education venues and actually seeming to care about what they do

Well she was ghastly when she visited our regiment. At dinner she only wanted to talk about horses and during the day she said she didn't want to hear a song the kids at the garrison primary school had practised for ages to sing to her. I sympathise with her on the song front in general terms but we're shelling out loads for these people so if they have to suck up a song or two they don't want to hear rather than disappoint the kids, maybe they should.

goodbyestranger · 04/10/2023 10:12

Badly done Anne, all round.

NameChangePoP · 04/10/2023 10:12

nationallampoons · 03/10/2023 23:25

Oh and one more I feel needs mentioning. Used to be in atomic kitten, always trying to get into the media.

She's a compulsive liar. Don't believe everything she says on this morning. People who know her know the truth. Hope she reads this

This has to be NH surely?!

HuwEdwardsBottom · 04/10/2023 10:17

I’ve never met him but Gareth Thomas the former rugby player lived near me briefly and I only heard nice things about him.

theDudesmummy · 04/10/2023 10:18

We unexpectedly sat at a table with Liam Howlett and Natalie Appleton many years ago at a dinner event. I knew who they were, but didn't behave any differently from normal obviously. DH didn't have a clue and would never have heard of either The Prodigy or All Saints. He asked them politely what they did as part of general chit chat as you do. They were clearly quite miffed by this, said they were musicians and then wouldn't talk to us after that.

BlueMongoose · 04/10/2023 10:25

Edwardandtubbs · 03/10/2023 20:06

I've worked in a few art galleries so have met artists...

Tracey Emin came across as aloof and was obsessed with selling as much merch as possible - so as I expected!

Grayson Perry clearly didn't want to engage with me and instead looked me up and down and then stood awkwardly in silence (after I'd introduced myself to him) - I thought this betrayed his 'man of the people / down to earth' persona

Jeremy Deller was lovely, shy and quiet but very polite and listened to all our ideas for his show with good grace

TBH I'm surprised when any artist is anything less than a control-freak-self-absorbed-adult-baby

We're used to working alone, and the job tends to attract people who like it that way. By the same token, we're used to a high level of control over our work, which can make leaving the studio to exhibit, or collaborating, a bit of a challenge for some. Artists often don't get on very well with other people, even with other artists (I have been involved in an artists' organisation and 'herding cats' doesn't even begin to cover it- not active hostility, just a lot of rather introverted and awkward people who are used to controlling their own environments having to work out how to compromise- always going to be tricky).
That doesn't excuse rudeness, of course. Like most artists I know, I try to work with gallery staff in as productive and friendly way as possible, and AFAIK from what they tell me the ones I work with, and my direct clients, find me easy going and efficient, though in 'real life' I'm definitely not in the least easy-going by nature. Just professional at work.
Actors tend to be much better with people than artists as they are used to working in groups.

Pinceywincey · 04/10/2023 10:28

Twice I’ve randomly met David Coulthard in the lifts at my office - I think his accountant or someone was at one of the firms in our building. This was around the time he’d just retired from driving & was presenting the F1 on BBC. He was utterly charming & chatty even though it was only a couple of minutes. Much taller in person and very handsome up close!

Lordofmyflies · 04/10/2023 10:31

Ha! My dog molested Martin Clunes' dog in a pub in Dorset. DDog was obsessed with his dog. He was very lovely and ended up joining us at our table and bought a round of drinks. He obviously has a very very attractive dog!

90s · 04/10/2023 10:32

Fucking annoyed
i had the displeasure of meeting the baking bible bitch at a book signing at the nec food festival. I’d already bought the book, was full of pnd so this was a treat. She was foul. I was crushed. Still haven’t opened the book in 13 years! Cannot ever watch the fake, grandma cow so turn the channel over as soon as her grinning face is on

20questions · 04/10/2023 10:33

David Tennant - gorgeous, warm and friendly

awaynboilyurheid · 04/10/2023 10:38

90’s who was it? My moneys on Mary Berry!