People I've spotted in real life...

1. Nick Ferrari

Nick Ferrari was born on January 31, 1959 in Sidcup, Kent, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Extras (2005), Bronson: Fit to Be Free? (2023) and The Jihadis Next Door (2016).

c. 2012, he was having a rummage through the reduced section in Lewisham Tesco.

Jo Brand was born on July 23, 1957 in London, England, UK. She is a writer and actress, known for Getting On (2009), The More You Ignore Me (2018) and Human Traffic (1999). She has been married to Bernie Bourke since December 19, 1997. They have two children.

Passed her on the street round Rathbone Place way

3. Nicholas Parsons

Actor | Doctor Who

Nicholas Parsons was without doubt one of the UK's most popular and beloved television and radio personalities, and very few can claim to have had such a long entertainment career. The son of a doctor, he was raised in Lincolnshire until the age of eight, when the family moved to London. He was ...

Passed him on the street in Edinburgh, 2007.

4. Les Dennis

Actor | Coronation Street

Les Dennis was born on October 12, 1954 in Liverpool, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Coronation Street (1960), Family Fortunes (1980) and Extras (2005). He has been married to Claire Nicholson since November 23, 2009. They have one child. He was previously married to Amanda Holden and Lynne...

In a shop in Edinburgh, 2007.

5. Jim Broadbent

Actor | Moulin Rouge!

One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent was born on May 24, 1949, in Lincolnshire, the youngest son of furniture maker Roy Laverick Broadbent and sculptress Doreen "Dee" (Findlay) Broadbent. Jim attended a Quaker boarding school in Reading before successfully applying for a ...

Passed him on the street in Edinburgh, 2009.

6. Simon Callow

Actor | Four Weddings and a Funeral

Simon Callow was born on June 13, 1949 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and A Room with a View (1985). He has been married to Sebastian Fox since June 2016.

Twice: Outside a pub in central London and in the Angel Waitrose

7. Ian McDiarmid

Actor | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Ian McDiarmid was born on August 11, 1944 in Carnoustie, Tayside, Scotland. He studied for a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of St. Andrews, but eventually found that his calling was in theatre. He went to the Royal Academy in Glasgow, where he received the prestigious gold...

Passed me on the street in Angel, 2014.

8. Fiona Shaw

Actress | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1

Shaw was already an accomplished theater actress when director Jim Sheridan awarded her a role in his film, My Left Foot (1989). The film is a telling of Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), an Irishman disgruntled with his confinement to a body horribly crippled by cerebral palsy but who found ...

Waitrose, 2014.

9. Chris Evans

Writer | Don't Forget Your Toothbrush

Chris Evans was born on April 1, 1966 in Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Don't Forget Your Toothbrush (1994), The Big Breakfast (1992) and Glöm inte tandborsten (1994). He has been married to Natasha Shishmanian since August 11, 2007. They have two ...

Twice: In Tower Records in Piccadilly in 2001 and on Oxford Street in about 2013/4

10. Alexander McCall Smith

Writer | The Meerkats

Alexander McCall Smith was born in Zimbabwe (called Southern Rhodesia at the time) and was educated there and in Scotland. He became a law professor in Scotland, and it was in this role that he first returned to Africa to work in Botswana, where he helped to set up a new law school at the ...

Passed him on the street in Edinburgh.

11. David Hyde Pierce

Actor | Frasier

David Hyde Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. He is the youngest child of George and Laura Pierce (both deceased) and has two older sisters (Barbara and Nancy) and an older brother (Thomas). As a child, he was very interested in music (particularly piano) and regularly played the ...

Passed him near Waterloo Station when he was in London doing La Bete in 2010 - got eye contact as he saw me recognise him.

12. Samantha Bond

Actress | GoldenEye

Samantha's early theatre work includes repertory seasons at Coventry, Edinburgh, Derby, and Bristol and 'Never in My Life 'at the Soho Poly in London. After appearing in Kenneth Branagh's production of 'Romeo and Juliet' she went on to West End productions of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses', 'Man of the...

Saw her on Covent Garden literally just after having seen her in a matinee of What the Butler Saw in 2012. She saw me recognise her, probably realised I'd seen the play, and then fiddled with her already on the face sunnies, as if to say "don't bother me".

13. Jennifer Saunders

Actress | Absolutely Fabulous

Jennifer Saunders was born July 6, 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, to Jane, a biology teacher, and Robert Thomas Saunders, an RAF pilot. She attended Central School of Speech and Drama where she met her comedy partner Dawn French. Like many of the early 80s groundbreaking "alternative" comedians ...

At Heathrow airport, 2000.

14. Adrian Edmondson

Actor | Bancroft

Adrian Edmondson was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He went to Manchester University to study drama. Whilst he was there he met Rik Mayall, and the pair began performing as 20th Century Coyote. The act continued after university when Adrian & Rik moved to London, and they became two of ...

At Heathrow, 2000.

15. Imelda Staunton

Actress | Vera Drake

Imelda Staunton is an English actress and singer from Archway, London. Her ancestry is primarily Irish. She has worked extensively in theater, and has won 4 Laurence Olivier Awards; 3 for leading roles and one for a supporting role. Her best known role in films has been the recurring villain ...

Trafalgar Square with her shopping.

16. Maggie Steed

Actress | The Painted Veil

Born Margaret Baker in Plymouth, Devon, in 1946, Maggie Steed studied drama with the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, graduating in the late 1960s. However, her first professional engagements were as an assistant stage manager, working behind the scenes in a somewhat lowly capacity, because, she ...

Waitrose, 2012.

17. Gaby Roslin

Actress | The Lily Savage Show

Gaby Roslin was born on July 12, 1964 in London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Lily Savage Show (1997), Zig and Zag's Dirty Deeds (1996) and Missing (2009). She was previously married to Colin Peel.

Westfield London, 2011.

18. Rhona Cameron

Actress | Rhona

Rhona Cameron was born on September 27, 1965 in Dundee, Tayside, Scotland, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Rhona (2000), Six Four (2023) and Funny Man (1994).

On a train to Salisbury.

19. Michelle Collins

Actress | Two Thousand Acres of Sky

Michelle Collins was born on May 28, 1962 in Hackney, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Two Thousand Acres of Sky (2001), Doctor Who (2005) and Coronation Street (1960). She has been married to Mike Davidson since August 10, 2022.

On a train from Manchester to London.

20. Alun Armstrong

Actor | The Mummy Returns

Alun Armstrong is a British actor who is known for playing Cardinal Jinette from the Van Helsing franchise, Baltus Hafez from The Mummy Returns, Uncle Garrow from Eragon, the High Constable from Sleepy Hollow and Maxwell Randall from Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire. He is married to Sue ...

In a theatre foyer in Edinburgh where he was a fellow punter.

21. Kate Robbins

Soundtrack | The Crying Game

Kate Robbins (born in Margate, Kent) is an English actress, comedian, singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in the early 1980s when she scored a No.2 hit on the UK Charts with the song "More Than in Love", She went on to become a prolific voice actress, most notably for nine years with the ...

Outside a pub in Soho

22. Cleo Rocos

Actress | Number One Gun

Cleo Rocos was born on July 24, 1962 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is an actress and producer, known for Number One Gun (1990), Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) and Highlander (1992).

In Waitrose at John Lewis Oxford Street, pushing her tequila brand, c. 2013.

23. Ronan Vibert

Actor | Saving Mr. Banks

The name may not be familiar but the face surely would be. Ronan Vibert will be remembered as an incisive character actor who was noted for his television appearances on both sides of the Atlantic. The son of artists David Vibert and his wife Dilys (née Jackson), he was born in Cambridgeshire, but ...

At a pub concert in London, 2012.

24. Derek Malcolm

Self | Discovering Film

Derek Malcolm was born on May 12, 1932 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He was married to Sarah Gristwood and Barbara M. Ibbott. He died on July 15, 2023 in Deal,England,UK.

It was one evening in December 2009, I saw him waiting to cross the road at Highgate, while the traffic lights were being fixed. He was in his right of way to cross, but as he did so, the front car waiting suddenly lurched forward a tiny bit and back again. This understandably made the mild mannered film-critic somewhat perturbed, and he then vigorously stuck his fingers up at the driver and carried on.

25. Judi Spiers

Actress | The Governor

Judi Spiers was born on March 15, 1953 in Plymouth, Devon, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Governor (1995), Always and Everyone (1999) and Virtual Murder (1992). She is married to Richard Donald Hacker.

Outside the Phoenix in Exeter

26. Marcus Brigstocke

Actor | Love Actually

Marcus began his comedy career at Bristol University where he performed stand up and character shows and soon won the BBC New Comedian of 1996. He has since emerged as a major comedy, writing and acting talent, performing in the UK and beyond and has become a regular voice on BBC Radio with an ...

Walking down Queen Street in Exeter

27. Leee John

Soundtrack | The Red Sea Diving Resort

Leee John was born on June 23, 1957 in Hackney, London, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019), Flashback: The History of UK Black Music (2016) and Indigo Prophecy (2005).

Sat next to him on the tube in about 2009.

28. Mark Ravenhill

Writer | Vicious

Mark Ravenhill was born on June 7, 1966 in Sussex, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Vicious (2013), Playhouse: Live (2010) and National Theatre Live: Nation (2010).

Back in about 2013/4 I got eye contact with him when I was on the tube and he was on the platform waiting. He saw me recognise him and then purposefully got on the next carriage, saving me the embarrassment of quoting a memorable line from "Shopping & F***ing" at him.

29. Mark Kermode

Self | Kermode & Mayo's Take

Mark Kermode's trademark intense, often frightening rants about various films which he likes or dislikes has earned him something of a 'cult' following in the UK. He began his career in film journalism and broadcasting in the 1980s after studying English at Manchester University, where he wrote his...

In Soho, 2008

30. Jimmy Carr

Self | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

Jimmy Carr is an award-winning comedian, writer and television host.

Among the most-respected and best-loved comedians working in Britain today, Jimmy is one of the biggest selling live acts in UK comedy, consistently performing to sell-out crowds across the country and around the world.

His ...

Passed him on the street though can't actually remember whether it was London or Edinburgh...

31. Simon Amstell

Writer | Benjamin

Amstell was born on 29 November 1979 and was raised in Gants Hill, London. The lively and determined chap made his first television appearance in 1993 when he appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 game show GamesMaster (1992-1998), which he unfortunately lost, but this did not falter him on his...

Twice: 2009, In Edinburgh (looking really smug) and a few years later on City Road in London.

32. Lorraine Chase

Actress | Emmerdale Farm

She broke into modeling at 17. invested her money wisely and co wrote a best selling book 'Money and How to Make it' While at school she had a Saturday job at a branch of Woolworths, Later she spent 10 years as a model then in 1979 did a Campari commercial which brought her to notice and ...

Passed her on the street in Edinburgh

33. Janine Duvitski

Actress | The New World

Janine Drzewicki was born in the Lancashire town of Lancaster to an English mother and a Polish father. She attended school in Nottingham and later moved to London to train as an actress at the E 15 theatre school. Shortly after leaving she was given a couple of small roles in television dramas but...

At the Tate Modern in London, and for some reason I remember the exact date: 22 May 2000.

34. Terry Waite

Self | Songs of Praise

Terry Waite was born on May 31, 1939 in Bollington, Cheshire, England, UK.

Charing Cross Station, c. 2011

35. Iain Stewart

Actor | Huntingtower

Dr Iain Stewart is a Scottish geologist who graduated from Stathclyde University in Scotland, in 1986 with a degree in geology and geography. He followed this with a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy which is a higher research degree) on Mediterranean earthquakes at the University of Bristol in England, ...

At Exeter St Davids Station, c. 2017.

36. Nigel Planer

Actor | Brazil

Nigel Planer was born in London and educated at the prestigious Westminster School. He then went to Sussex University to study African and Asian Studies. However, he left after a year and decided to pursue his love of theatre. He trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

...

London Bridge area, c. 2013

37. Samira Ahmed

Actress | Nebula-75

Samira Ahmed was born on June 15, 1968 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Nebula-75 (2020), Unforgotten (2015) and Heart's Ease (2018).

Twice in London: On the train to New Malden and passed her on the street Bloomsbury way, probably within the space of a year, c. 2013.