To ask your tenuous claims to fame?

[GetAGripNigel]

The more tenuous the better.

I don’t want any of your “My mum used to clean for a famous pop star” because that turns into pages of tiresome questions and “Oh go on tell us who it is/give us a clue/no I can’t sorry”

I want such tenuous connections that nobody will bother asking follow up questions.

I’ll start.

My dog was Mr Tumble’s dog’s mum.

I quite literally bumped into Charles Kennedy on the way to work one day

I accidentally sat in Christopher Ecclestone’s train seat once. He politely asked me to move, and I did as such.

Do you mean Janet Godley's daughter Ashley Storrie? She's famous in her own right now. She's a stand-up comedian, a regular presenter on Radio Scotland and she co-created and starred in a lovely BBC sitcom called Dinosaur a few years ago, and won a BAFTA for it.

I was one of Terry Wogan's TYGs, Terry's Young Gezzers. I used to send him faxes, remember those, which he read out on air. I still have my WUTWAC, Wake Up To Wogan Alarm Clock and two sweatshirts.

I was also on Gardener's Question Time asking a horticultural question.

I came joint last in the 'mothers running backwards' race with Jerry Hall at a sports day at our children's school.

Some of these are less than tenuous!

I sometimes cat-sit for someone who has won multiple BAFTAs.

I was once invited to stay at Rod Stewart’s house in the south of France. A friend of my then BF worked for his music producer. Rod wasn’t there but apparently Penny Lancaster would have been. I didn’t go, because I split up with my BF, because he was an arse.

I used to buy a veg box each week from a farm. The man who ran the farm was Harry Hill's brother.

I used to babysit Marc Bannermann's goddaughter. I had no idea who he was until much later, but I met him a few times.

My DD nearly went to the high school Romesh Ranganathan taught at. When we went to the open evening a couple of years ago, he was there with his wife and youngest son (also looking around). They were right behind us because every room we went in they came in a few minutes later! It was DD's second choice and she didn't go there in the end.

DH's uni lecturer was a competitor on Robot Wars. He and DS went to meet him last year and saw a couple of robots, DS was over the moon!

And not really a link, more of a spot, but when I was 10ish we saw some of the (at the time) younger Corrie cast members in an airport. DM pointed them out to me but I only vaguely recognised them because she watched it (I think one of them was called Fizz?).

DM used to drink in the same pub as David Bowie and Eddie Grant, many years ago.

During the height of Charles and Diana mania in the early '80s. As a young teenager I went with my mum on a day trip to London. We did the tourist thing of going to Harrods with the intention of buying the cheapest thing we could find just to get an iconic green carrier bag. I stepped over a stroller which was stood in the aisle, to be met with stoney glares from David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, who designed Princess Diana's wedding dress.

Yeah, I don't get the 'we live somewhere where lots of famous people live in the next road' ones, they're not tenuous.

I was on "Can't get the Staff". I got the job that was on offer and enjoyed working for a Princess. She would even bring me a coffee and a snack while I was working.

Yes that’s right! I wasn’t sure how well known Ashley was outside Scotland, but I did see her BBC show being advertised (I’m now in England).

I didn’t realise she was doing radio presenting too. I will add Dinosaur to my Iplayer watch list!

Not surprised to hear all that - I do remember even as a pre-teen she was performing at the fringe! I’m not sure if it was with her mum or she had her own slot.

I’m not great with guessing men’s ages but I’d say this man was in his late 50s or 60s. This was back in 2020 though!

I gave Jacob Collier a singing lesson. He was in my yr 7 choir.

I met Vera Lynn while volunteering with disabled children for my D of E award

I also sang at Alfie Boe's 21st birthday (he was unknown then and we were in the same operatic company)

A casual boyfriend of mine was a friend and colleague of James Gilbey at the time he was having an affair with Princess Diana, and he had to smuggle him in and out of work at Lotus cars in the boot of his car to avoid the paparazzi.

I was rescued by the SAS as needed to be evacuated (workplace just outside Libyan Embassy garage doors) as the Libyan Embassy siege was taking place.

Some years ago, one of my pupils gave a talk about her experience on a kids' game show. She and an adult friend had to compete.

The show made up a weird story where he supposedly called her 'Goat woman'. No, he didn't. He sometimes told her she was a daft goat - a common expression round our way.

When the researcher interviewed my pupil, she realised that she had a big sister. Big sister was invited to another show where she was teamed up with a Glaswegian she didn't know. According to the show, they were 'friends'.

In both shows, things were filmed over and over in order to make things 'exciting'. eg My pupil was winning a race too easily, so had to be filmed three or four times, to make it look as though she'd just won.

Crumbs!

I loaned Steve Bull my pocket-sized antibacterial spray in McDonald's so he could clean the table before his daughter ate.

(Steve Bull was a Wolverhampton Wanderers striker through the late 80s and into the 90s. He's a bit of a local celebrity.)

I worked at Pontins and had a drink with Chesney Hawkes, Sonia, and Lisa Scott-Lees brother after their sets.

I was once worked with Kieran from Pop Idol

Matthew Pinsent is a remote cousin of mine (he would have absolutely no idea!)

I have been on television twice, for a millisecond each time.

When I was 17 I was in a play with a (now) Hollywood actress- also aged 17. 2 comedians (radio 4) were also in the play- then aged 15 and a (now) famous author! I am not at all famous btw.