To ask what do you say when you meet a celebrity?

[Mollymoo78]

I feel like the only person who has never met a famous person and I wouldn't know what to say if I did!!

There is a Bollywood composer and a choreographer who say hello to me if they see me. Most other Bollywood celebrities I meet I am more interested in discussing their child's performance and often don't realise they are famous.

Ego, I have twice heard about the death of a parent of someone I have taught on the news, once it was international news. That was weird.

On the beach standing in the shallows watching my 2 DCs play with little boats. They were joined by a boy and girl of around the same age also with boats and an elaborate game evolved.

Their father came and stood beside me and we nattered on about our DCs, tried to work out what they were doing both looking straight ahead, as you do. We discussed local places good to visit with DCs. My OH was further out to sea on a surf ski and he waved as he went past. The father said it looked like fun. I said something like, "Anything to get him away from his precious guitars!"

He burst out laughing and I looked at him for the first time. It was Brian May. By then I was totally relaxed with him so just said, "Ooops!" If I'd realised who he was from the start I would have been overcome and star struck, I love Queen. We met and chatted a few times after that and the DCs played together. This was while he was still married to his first wife.

Lovely bloke.

'Meet' or just happen to see somewhere? I wouldn't say anything. What I certainly wouldn't do is what a load of people did at the Albert Hall not long ago. I was in the loo after the show and who should also be in there but Helena Bonham Carter, evidently with a rather older relative. When I came out she was surrounded in the corridor by at least half a dozen morons all crowding around her taking selfies. She just stood there and endured it politely enough, but I would bet anything she was wishing they'd just leave her in peace with her mother, or whoever it was.

Someone once asked me where the toilet was at work. I turned around and it was Kelly Holmes, the runner (I work in a University that specialises in sport).

I said "Oh, it's you!". Not very helpful.

We had almost the whole cast of Coronation Street in the row in front of us when we saw That Day We Sang at the Manchester Opera House.The lady who plays Audrey Roberts turned round in the interval and said something about the performance and we chatted briefly about Victoria Wood.
I sat opposite the poet Simon Armitage on the train to London and we talked mainly about his translation of Beowulf but also about his daughter and the discovery we had some mutual friends.

I bumped into Bill Wyman when I was about 13yo. Asked for an autograph but only had a McDonald's paper bag with me which he declined to sign as he said he was vegi. I asked him how Mandy was, he said she was fine. He asked me where I was from. I told him and then just stood there grinning like a loon at him.

About the same age I bumped into Imran Khan. He autographed my copy of the Evening standard and also a guns and roses poster for me!
Funnily enough the evening standard had a big interview with him in that day where he said he hadn't decided about retiring yet. He told me he was retiring as his shoulder hurt so much. So I got a scoop over the evening standard!

I realised I was sitting next to a well-known TV presenter who did a lot of work in the 90s/noughties on our outbound holiday flight this year. She was with her daughter with her husband & other child in the row behind. I didn't let on I knew who she was because I figured she probably wanted peace & quiet when travelling with her family. We had a lovely chat on the plane and she wished me a good holiday & said goodbye as she passed me in the arrivals hall. At the end of the day, celebs are just people going about their lives.

I was introduced to a a teenage heartthrob from a one hit wonder type band when I was about 14. It was a back stage party Put on by the record company so was quite exciting. I froze! He said 'Hi, I'm x' in a very well media trained voice but I just froze and couldn't respond. This celeb was about a year older than me and was so not intimidating in any way. Really embarrassing!

DH met a 90s indie star a few months ago. He asked DH for a lighter. DH is much cooler than me, maintained composure and said:
DH: 'Sure. Here you go. Don't I know you from somewhere'.
celeb: (said slowly) Do you know me from somwhere? You might. (with a smile on his face and a laugh).
DH: how's it going man? You having a good time.
Celeb: yeah it's pretty good thanks. How about you?
DH: great time thanks. Weather isn't great but it doesn't matter.

Meanwhile celeb's wife was nagging to leave so DH asked if he could be cheeky and have a quick pic. Celeb was happy to oblige. I took it. Celeb pointed at DH in picture and said 'look who I met at xxx'.

He was a really nice guy!

I seem to have a magnetic pull towards premiership footballers' children as my son was in the same class with one oop north, then we moved, and I inadvertently sent him to another school where the WAGS are rife. The northern team were brilliant and were very nice. We'd chat about normal stuff as a parent etc - the only difference was the cars that they would then get into.

The other team are...... well, the most-famous-of-them footballer is OK, I haven't seen him do the school run since the paps turned up though. His WAG is a bit self important. I don't know the others as I'm not a football can TBH.

Ego do you teach Katie Hopkins kids

I bumped into Bill Wyman when I was about 13yo.

I'm surprised he didn't propose.

Some years ago (just before the smoking ban came in) I attended the Lottery Annual Awards at the Tate Modern. Wall to wall celebrities in the smoking zone, it was hard to chat to someone who wasn't well known. Everyone was very friendly and grounded but then I suppose the celebs who aren't probably don't attend these kind of affairs. It was like a big (good) office party.

My friend is pretty famous, though looks slightly different in real life. Is also quite unassuming (not a 'look at me' type at all. When people do recognise them usually people are not quite sure here they know them from, so just nod, say hello, or talk as if they know them. They've had the lowdown on someone's mothers accident and also been regaled with tales of how the headmaster is extremely out of order and why. They just go along with it.

I had reason to send something to a famous actor for work. She wrote the loveliest hand written thank you letter in reply (most don't acknowledge receipt in any way at all). A couple of days later I saw her walking on Hampstead Heath with her friends. We had never met so I just gave her the biggest smile, which she didn't know was because I appreciated her letter, but I didn't think she wanted to be bothered with work things on a Saturday with her friends.

I once met Brian May and his wife who played Angie in Eastenders, I'm a huge Queen fan and I think my words were "Ftsbskjs jesisj". They were like

NotBad

The only time I ran into someone famous - in a grocery store - I knew that I knew her but couldn't place her. (You know how it sometimes is when a familiar face crops up but in the 'wrong' place.) I had a (thankfully) short but very breezy conversation with her where I was mainly concentrating on not letting on that I couldn't remember who she was.

It wasn't until I'd left the store and was 100 yards down the road that it suddenly hit me who I'd been chatting to.

If it's a dancer or sportsperson - Hi, how's the injury?

If it's an author - So, are we ever going to learn more about (insert returning minor character's name)?

If it's an actor - I've akways thought you would be good as (insert leading role name); is that something you'd like to do?

If it's a certain comedy magic dragon who works with a chihuahua side kick - I'd love to take your dog home with me; he'd feed my Burmese python for two or three week!

For some reason, that last one didn't go down too well .....

As a school child in the late 70s, i was on a plane on my way back to school. It was delayed ... until a group of people came on board, the doors were closed and off we went. One of the latecomers was in the middle seat of my row of three. He was carrying a briefcase with a sticker that said 'Dolorodo meets The Who'.

The man in the window seat asked for his autograph, claiming that his daughter was a big fan. He gestured to me (did i want an autograph too?) and i said , no thanks, I don't know Dolorodo. Next Top of the Pops, there he was, Roger Daltrey of The Who, wearing the same trousers he wore on the plane. Sigh.

. notbad

Think he was still married to Mandy.