Celebs where you don’t expect to see them

[Normaja]

I did a drivers awareness course today, one of the online courses where the group joins via teams or whatever it is. You only see everyone’s face and first name.
Anyway, there was one participant that after a while of thinking she was familiar, I realised she’s a TV presenter. I’m certain it was her, but if it wasn’t then this woman with the same name shares an uncanny resemblance.

I don’t spot many celebs where I live so it was quite exciting to be sharing a space with one. Even if it was that particular space. She seemed very pleasant.

Ever had any random celeb spots like that?

I saw him in Tesco in Crouch End once.

Oooh just remembered another, Maureen Lipman, at her daughters graduation, my sons also.

Anneka Rice watching a busker on Tower bridge.

She was in Casualty for a while, it was probably then as it was filmed in Bristol for a while

Emilia Clarke at Waitrose, David Beckham near my flat when I was living in Marylebone (think he was doing the school run)? Also saw Imelda Staunton at a coffee shop in Hampstead! Makes you do a total double take

I share a hairdresser with Sandi Toksvig. She is very nice but very......performative. Bloody irritating when you have a childfree couple of hours, a pile of glossy mags and a frothy coffee.

But my favourite celeb sighting belongs to a friend. She was invited to hospitality at a very posh horsey event. Got chatting to a nice American chap whose daughter was competing that day. He was terribly friendly, incredibly proud of his daughter, got her a(nother) glass of wine, introduced his wife and they all had a high old time. Apparently her party were aghast as Bruce Springsteen normally keeps to himself at these events!

John Thompson is M&S lift in year Trafford Centre

Met quite a few through work/friends/sheer luck but my most embarrassing one was when Sheridan Smith was filming outside our work, on our carpark and she came in and asked to use the staff toilet and due to policy, I had to refuse her and advise her to go to the nearby McDonalds - it was only seeing her on TV, that I realised who she was and I was mortified.
She is a LOT smaller and a lot prettier in real life and I just hadn't recognised her - to give her, her due, she was really sweet about it and really polite and just accepted it - I bet inside she was cursing me.

Bit mean to share that private info about Hermione Norris.

Very jealous about Bruce!!

Carol Vorderman at Lego land we had tickets to get through quickly as military dependants and she tried to push in the queue using the ‘don’t you know who I am’ card. Have disliked her ever since.
Judy Dench in Boots queue - she was lovely and respectful.

Pet shop boys in our little town Morrison’s.

Paul Daniels in B&Q. Tills weren't working and someone asked him to work his magic, which made everyone laugh, including him

Nicholas Lyndhurst at Universal Studios and Jonathan Ross and his wife at Walt Disney World, ducking into the Rock n Roller Coaster shop to avoid the rain.

The guy who plays Roy Cropper looking at wine in Waitrose.

Ed Miliband and his family going through security at the airport.

Regularly see comedians and their family around Edinburgh during the festival. I’ve randomly passed Adam Hills, Greg Davies, Frank Skinner, Isy Suttie, Russell Howard, Tom Stade, Richard Herring, Stuart Lee and Bridget Christie, Paul Sinha, Kevin Eldon, Simon Donald, Jo Caulfield, Kemah Bob and Zoe Lyons and I once told Angela Barnes that I loved her jumpsuit.

Stephen Tompkinson having a cuppa in a cafe.

Not really a celebrity, but I also idiotically kept saying a cheery hello to a dad I kept seeing looking around secondary schools and assuming I knew him from football or something. He never really replied so I just assumed he was a bit grumpy. Watching Police interceptors at a later date, I realised where I actually knew him from. 🤦🏻‍♀️

And I remember being very star struck as a child in the 80s on my first foreign holiday when ‘Stewpot’ from Grange Hill and some similarly aged teenage mates were staying in our hotel.

I should also point out that I needed my husband to point out practically all of these. I obviously take no notice of people whatsoever!

It's quite obvious looking at her that she has Botox!

i saw Jeremy Paxman in Boots in Manchester buying Euthymol toothpaste. i thought only my husband bought this as it is horrible toothpaste but Jeremy had about 4 packets in his hand so obviously a fan.

Oh and James Cordon and Peter Beardsley (not together) at a John Bishop gig.

Years ago - Vickie entwhistle (Janice off corrie) at a spa (smoking when you used to be able to smoke indoors)

He lives near me. I see him in Sainsburys quite often.

I saw Giant from Gladiators at Chester Zoo a few weeks ago. He's very difficult not to keep looking at because of the sheer size of him, but he was just quietly getting on with his day out with his family and not trying to get attention.

Not me but a friend a few years ago. Sitting watching a dancing school end of term performance and admiring the beautiful silver slippers of the lady in the next seat. Was just about to ask where she got them when realised it was Cate Blanchette

Very very very jealous of The Boss spotting.

I saw Tom Ward from Silent Witness as we waited to pick our kids up from a summer tennis camp in Oxford. I had always fancied him so I struck up a conversation and he was very nice. He told me that he was getting irritated with the show for making increasingly shocking, gory or unbelievable scenarios. He left the show soon after that. He didn't ask for my number, dammit.

I also saw Patrick Stewart from Star Wars in a country pub near Oxford one mother's day. I took a cheeky photo but didn't disturb his lunch with his family.

I saw Jordan Henderson in a soft play in Liverpool. All the kids started running around excitedly when he came in. He was standing right next to me in the line, so I said "are you a footballer or something?" And he just smiled. My son was so embarrassed when I told him.

Oh and I used to see Peter Hitchens bicycling around Oxford often.

The Edge from U2 ordered fish and chips at the bar I work at, Ian McKellen at the harbour opposite my works and Prince Harry quite a few times in a local pub where I went to uni but this was before he met his wife.