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Original poster

Famous people you thought would be nice, but were tw*ts?

771 replies

Moodershewrote · 22/07/2025 14:25

Have you met someone famous and they turned out to be a bit of a twat?

I once met Steve Coogan (who I thought was hilarious as Alan Partridge) who was a sexist, lecherous buffoon IRL.

Share your tales!

OP posts:
NotCrazyAboutIt · 22/07/2025 14:32

There are about a million threads about this on here, but I always think they’re a bit unfair, because they’re really ‘I met Famous Person X for thirty seconds once and thought they were being a bit mean, although I have no idea whether I was the fiftieth person to ask for a selfie when they were buying tampons/trying eat dinner with their family’.

I met Alan Rickman years ago and found him rather sneery, but I don’t think that necessarily says anything at all about him, other than that’s how he was to one specific person for one specific two-minute period in about 2000.

LindorDoubleChoc · 22/07/2025 14:37

In reverse: I had a cup of tea with Keith Allen once and he was really nice and good company, interested in me, easy to chat to.

I don't know her of course but I always thought Ellen would be a good person to be around. What a disappointment she has turned out to be.

Original poster
Moodershewrote · 22/07/2025 15:22

LindorDoubleChoc · 22/07/2025 14:37

In reverse: I had a cup of tea with Keith Allen once and he was really nice and good company, interested in me, easy to chat to.

I don't know her of course but I always thought Ellen would be a good person to be around. What a disappointment she has turned out to be.

I bet Keith Allen has some good stories!

Ellen as in DeGeneres?

OP posts:
Original poster
Moodershewrote · 22/07/2025 15:23

The reverse is also just as interesting! I once met Gary Lineker who was engaging and friendly. Also Jimmy Page, who was really interesting and down to earth.

OP posts:
StopRainingNow · 22/07/2025 15:49

Moodershewrote · 22/07/2025 15:23

The reverse is also just as interesting! I once met Gary Lineker who was engaging and friendly. Also Jimmy Page, who was really interesting and down to earth.

In reverse, the Duchess of Cambridge I expected to be a bit aloof, but was actually super nice, engaging and friendly.

LittleBitofBread · 22/07/2025 16:07

See, I'm not in the least bit surprised that Steve Coogan was like that. I've always got a bad vibe from him.
The few famous people I've met have pretty much been as you'd expect (example: John Humphrys is grouchy, rude, deliberately argumentative for no reason).

DancingNotDrowning · 22/07/2025 16:10

A friend of mine dated Steve Coogan. I cannot put into words how disgustingly vile her is.

feliciabirthgiver · 22/07/2025 16:14

Kirstie Allsop very snooty and referred to me as ‘the staff’ on the flipside Paul McCartney is a very kind and generous man.

FleurDeFleur · 22/07/2025 16:14

NotCrazyAboutIt · 22/07/2025 14:32

There are about a million threads about this on here, but I always think they’re a bit unfair, because they’re really ‘I met Famous Person X for thirty seconds once and thought they were being a bit mean, although I have no idea whether I was the fiftieth person to ask for a selfie when they were buying tampons/trying eat dinner with their family’.

I met Alan Rickman years ago and found him rather sneery, but I don’t think that necessarily says anything at all about him, other than that’s how he was to one specific person for one specific two-minute period in about 2000.

Excellent points, I was about to say the same. Imagine if you had to present yourself in a perfect, positive and charming way every time you left the house, no matter what you felt like, or had to do.
Also - I met Alan Rickman and he was kind and funny!

summertimeinLondon · 22/07/2025 16:14

Famous people I’ve met at various times:

Jeremy Paxman — talkative and charming, but a name-dropper
Michael Gove — charming, and seems like a good listener, but quite shallow
Gyles Brandreth — smarmy, lecherous and a name-dropper
Prince Philip (when alive obvs! 😆) — acerbic and funny, catty sense of humour
Princess Margaret — disgruntled, frustrated and a bit fed up, also quite catty

I’m sure there are more, will add when I can remember!

BlueEyedBogWitch · 22/07/2025 16:15

I met Keith Allen once, and he was very nice.
Steve Coogan nearly ran me over on his pushbike near The British Library.

I was disappointed to meet the famous linguist David Crystal. He was a long term hero of mine, but he turned out to be a patronising mansplainer and we had a bit of an argument.

FleurDeFleur · 22/07/2025 16:17

Moodershewrote · 22/07/2025 15:23

The reverse is also just as interesting! I once met Gary Lineker who was engaging and friendly. Also Jimmy Page, who was really interesting and down to earth.

I met Gary Lineker and did not like him one bit. However, he could have been having a bad day, so I don't want to be negative about him just because of that.

summertimeinLondon · 22/07/2025 16:20

BlueEyedBogWitch · 22/07/2025 16:15

I met Keith Allen once, and he was very nice.
Steve Coogan nearly ran me over on his pushbike near The British Library.

I was disappointed to meet the famous linguist David Crystal. He was a long term hero of mine, but he turned out to be a patronising mansplainer and we had a bit of an argument.

Yeah, never meet your heroes (or indeed, never have heroes). I’ve met a few people (usually men) whose books I liked but they turned out to be patronising arseholes.

Oh - Margaret Atwood is one I forgot. Steely, but chatty and nice — talked about fashion and clothes. Didn’t seem to be an arsehole, but then I only met her briefly at dinner and I find famous women tend to be a lot more self-aware about coming over badly than famous men, who don’t seem to have any self-awareness of how they come across at all.

A friend met Neil Gaiman a few times through work and said well before the scandal that he was handsy and gave off weird vibes.

Tuningfork · 22/07/2025 16:21

I met Wendy Richard at some function many, many years ago and she was a right snotty cold fish! She literally did what she was obviously being paid for and was not going to do a thing more. As she made to walk back behind the scenes to wherever she had emerged from, a young girl stopped her and asked her for an autograph for her Granny who was apparently a fan of Are You Being Served. She literally swatted the girl's hand away and flounced off. I remember thinking how callous it looked.

overthinker001 · 22/07/2025 16:22

Jimmy Carr…complete arrogant twat

overthinker001 · 22/07/2025 16:23

And I reverse I met and had a conversation with Roy Keane and Ashley Cole at work, both lovely

Gall10 · 22/07/2025 16:28

NotCrazyAboutIt · 22/07/2025 14:32

There are about a million threads about this on here, but I always think they’re a bit unfair, because they’re really ‘I met Famous Person X for thirty seconds once and thought they were being a bit mean, although I have no idea whether I was the fiftieth person to ask for a selfie when they were buying tampons/trying eat dinner with their family’.

I met Alan Rickman years ago and found him rather sneery, but I don’t think that necessarily says anything at all about him, other than that’s how he was to one specific person for one specific two-minute period in about 2000.

I read the Alan Rickman diary book….sounded a bit of a jerk in the book…although I just loved him as sherif of Nottingham in the Robin Hood film!

Gall10 · 22/07/2025 16:30

Moodershewrote · 22/07/2025 15:23

The reverse is also just as interesting! I once met Gary Lineker who was engaging and friendly. Also Jimmy Page, who was really interesting and down to earth.

God if I met jimmy page I’d think I’d died and gone straight through those pearly gates.

Tuningfork · 22/07/2025 16:31

My reverse side is James Martin. I had the privilege of spending a day having a cooking lesson with him, and not only was he just as down-to-earth and unaffected as he appears on our screens, but he was also incredibly kind and empathetic, a side of his character that you don't see on the TV!

Arlanymor · 22/07/2025 16:34

I’ll tell you who is bloody lovely - Jermaine Jackson. I was blown away by how decent, kind and nice he was. LaToya is mad as a box of frogs. I worked with them over a long weekend in Glasgow so feel I spent enough time with them to make a fair call. Oh and Amir Khan is an idiot.

SydneyCarton · 22/07/2025 16:35

Cilla Black crops up so often on this type of thread that I suspect she actually was a complete cow all the time.

I was at a Life on Mars Q&A once and Philip Glenister leaned back in his chair to answer a question and went completely arse over tit. Absolutely roared with laughter, not pompous at all and was really nice and down to earth.

CaveMum · 22/07/2025 16:35

overthinker001 · 22/07/2025 16:22

Jimmy Carr…complete arrogant twat

I met him after a show once and he was charm personified.

The only people who I’d be desperately gutted to hear are not lovely are Anthony Stewart-Head (these threads never see to pass without several people saying what a gent he is), Claudia Winkleman, Mel Giedroyc and Davina McCall.

Lottapianos · 22/07/2025 16:36

'See, I'm not in the least bit surprised that Steve Coogan was like that'

Same here. Comic genius, but definitely never had him down as a nice person

'I read the Alan Rickman diary book….sounded a bit of a jerk in the book…'

That book is quite a read! What a charmed life he had. Terribly sad loss, died far too young

WellPossibly · 22/07/2025 16:38

BlueEyedBogWitch · 22/07/2025 16:15

I met Keith Allen once, and he was very nice.
Steve Coogan nearly ran me over on his pushbike near The British Library.

I was disappointed to meet the famous linguist David Crystal. He was a long term hero of mine, but he turned out to be a patronising mansplainer and we had a bit of an argument.

Oh, that's actually really disappointing, especially as, while someone might be grumpy when caught unawares in a bad mood, I don't think anyone is a one-time-only mansplainer. It's a chronic condition.

MonGrainDeSel · 22/07/2025 16:39

NotCrazyAboutIt · 22/07/2025 14:32

There are about a million threads about this on here, but I always think they’re a bit unfair, because they’re really ‘I met Famous Person X for thirty seconds once and thought they were being a bit mean, although I have no idea whether I was the fiftieth person to ask for a selfie when they were buying tampons/trying eat dinner with their family’.

I met Alan Rickman years ago and found him rather sneery, but I don’t think that necessarily says anything at all about him, other than that’s how he was to one specific person for one specific two-minute period in about 2000.

In fact, Alan Rickman was well known by technical theatre crews (who were working with him over a period of months) to be sneery, unreasonable and an all-round arsehole - so I think you got him right!