Have you met a celebrity villain?

[pawsies]

Someone that is controversial in the media or comes across unpleasant on TV or whatever?

What were they like in real life?

AIBU to think there might be some surprises and some of them will be a persona on TV or whatever?

Gordon Ramsey. He pulled up a chair and sat down and had a bit of a laugh. He didn't swear once.

Dean Gaffney is crude.
Van Morrison is vile.
Gordon Ramsey is really lovely as is Ben Kingsley.

All I have to contribute is Shane Ritchie. To be fair he laughed when I told him I thought Alfie Moon was fecking annoying and I was glad he wasn't in east Enders.

Love this thread and hearing about the nice celebs. Also delighted my James-Corden-is-a-prick instincts are seemingly bang on.

I knew someone years ago who worked in a huge WH Smith where they regularly had author signings.

Apparently the nicest ‘author’ who was polite and chatty to the staff, cooperative with what was required and who stayed hours past the time when she was scheduled to leave to not disappoint the people in the queue was Jordan / Katie Price. It was a complete contrast to her public image at the time (and now).

I’ve put ‘author’ in quotes because from what I remember, when she was asked in an interview if the book was any good, she said she didn’t know as she hadn’t read it with the implication being that she had a ghostwriter.

Gordon Ramsey is lovely by all accounts.

I knew someone who worked with The Beckhams. Apparently Victoria was lovely and David was a twat! But who knows?

I hugged Ian Watkins from Lostprophets when I was 12

I too met Jimmy Saville as a child. A relative was in Stoke Manderville hospital. My family got to go to his flat to meet him as a "treat". My Mum wasn't keen on him, she was really irritated that he autographed loads of pages in her diary and rendered it useless!

Not a villian unless you enjoyed travelling on London public transport, Bob Crow sat opposite me on the tube and took several seats because he spread his knees as wide as they could go. I can't confirm whether he purchase an additional ticket or not.

Many due to my job.

Once shared a lift alone with Rolf Harris.

He randomly did the wobble board beat boxy thing, just for me, for 11 floors.

Not particularly villainous in itself but it was odd.

I have an opposite of that who is Lenny Henry, rude rude rude. Would totally ignore you if he could.

A friend of mine taught his kids - she didn’t have much good to say about him due to his rudeness. But OTOH she always said that Dawn French is absolutely lovely.

Not a villain by any account, but I met Ruby Wax briefly. I was amazed at how very brittle she seemed.

This thread is fascinating, I’ve nothing to add so just place marking so I can see where I’ve read up to!

Bob Crow was lovely, I used to be a journo and he was one of my favourite contacts, I always loved dealing with him.

My mother has met several brutal dictators responsible for many human rights abuses, all very charming and softly spoken in the flesh.

Megan Markle - some of our kids at an old job were at a special event she attended and they reported back she was really nice to them backstage when she wasn't being rushed around. One then went on to meet her a second time at a completely different event - she spotted him in the room, walked straight over, remembered his name and where she'd seen him before and asked about how his particular exams were going (she remembered the subjects he was taking).

Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols is absolutely lovely - charming, warm, polite, friendly.

An ex absolutely detests Matthew Kelly, He calls him particular names, but won't specify why exactly he is singled out for this hatred. His words usually include what he'd do if he found him in a swimming pool.

Most of the Brexity/antimask slebs I've met have always been utter pricks. One so called 'comedian' tried chatting me up at his bar and was really, really ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

And then there was the DJ. Did a Roadshow type thing (NOT Radio 1, he wasn't that well known at the time) in our local town one summer. He barged his way through our small mixed group of 16 years old to go and invite three 13 year old girls wearing shorts, vest tops and flip flops to go backstage with him for the day.

@Tistheseason17

Quite the opposite... "nice guy", Shane Richie - did the whole "don't you know who I am" at bar staff. Pompous arse.

I bet I know where this happened. I witnessed him doing exactly that in a pub near my DD's house in Belmont, Surrey

The thing that doesn’t add up with MM is that her Suits set colleagues say she was lovely. It’s very hard to hide a narc /bullying/unpleasant personality whilst working 16 hours a day on set for over 100 episodes.

I'd hate to be famous. Maybe you're nice 99% of the time, and that one time you're having a bad day, you bump into a Mumsnetter!

Vinny Jones. He was a phenomenal kisser with a stomach you could grate cheese on, allegedly. It was the 90s and pre his sojourn in Hollywood.

Margaret Thatcher. I went to primary school one day all happy and carefree to find she’d stolen my milk.

blondiney that sounds like a Lord Flashheart line

@Hollyhead

The thing that doesn’t add up with MM is that her Suits set colleagues say she was lovely. It’s very hard to hide a narc /bullying/unpleasant personality whilst working 16 hours a day on set for over 100 episodes.

Could it be that the attention and fawning that comes with being on set was fulfilling her narc supply? I imagine she basked in the attention like a well fed shark.

I met Prince Andrew when I was younger. At no point did he grope me, ask for a massage or in anyway sexually harass me. The fact we were in a function room with hundreds of other people is neither here nor there.

Eamon Holmes is very unpleasant. I met him at a charity event and he was really rude when it wasn't all about him. Ruth was lovely though.

@CatRamsey

I hugged Ian Watkins from Lostprophets when I was 12

Oh Jesus!

@TheLost

blondiney that sounds like a Lord Flashheart line

Woof woof!