Very late to this party! I'm still in the middle of reading through the thread but before I forget, just thought I'd add my not-so-exciting experiences!
I met Matthew Lewis who plays Neville Longbottom in HP when I was about 16, this was when he had just lost all his puppy fat and was growing into a handsome young man. I was working as an events waitress at a hotel and was madly obsessed with the HP franchise! The hotel was hosting a charity event - I guarantee there were a lot of higher profile people there than Matthew but I was young and literally as soon as I spotted him there, I went into a wreck! I finished my duties and while they were all dancing, I stood on the sidelines with a pen and a placecard waiting for the opportunity (and nerve!!) to approach him for an autograph (the days before selfies!) - fortunately a lovely older man who knew him came over and must has seen me staring intently like some creep in the shadows and asked if I wanted introducing!! So he took me over and Matthew signed my little placecard which I still have in my possession some 15 years later. Lovely guy to say we're about the same age, he came across older and very mature!
I met Jimmy Carr whilst working in Nandos. I was working there during college and would always work the evening shift when dinner service was in full swing so I never had chance to talk to any of the staff who were already on shift. Which is why noone failed to mention Jimmy Carr was dining in the restaurant. I was doing a walk around and spotted a guy who looked very familiar but I couldn't place him at all until he looked directly at me and I recognised him immediately and in a panic, I didn't know what to do so I just gave him the thumbs up
my god that make me cringe so so much to this day. He later asked me if I could change the lighting for him (I sort of looked up at the ceiling and then to him and said.. No not.. not really..' and then when he finished his dinner we had a quick chat as my brother was going to watch his show that evening. He was actually really really lovely, very well spoken and nice.
On the subject of Nandos I met Chris Fountain a few times, he would come in with his family. This was around Hollyoaks time or maybe just after, I fancied the pants off him!! He came in once while I was on a break and I actually skipped my my lunch so I could serve him
he wasn't too friendly actually, seemed quite private and didn't like to be bothered.
Very low-profile footballer Robbie Kiernan was on transfer to my local football club when he stayed at the hotel I was working in the bar for at the time. You'll have to Google him, his pictures don't do him justice he was so so good looking in person. He stayed at the hotel for quite a long time during his time with the club so I saw him all the time. He would always come to the bar for a jug of water in the evening so after the first few requests I kept one in the fridge for him every night and he'd come collect it. The reception staff knew I fancied him and one evening asked me to make a toiletries delivery to a guest room. I said that wasn't my job but they made out that the other staff were busy and it was urgent so I reluctantly picked up this bag of toiletries and off I went to knock on the door. They'd only sent me to his bloody room and he answered in just a towel. I couldn't even get any words out!!!! He smiled at me and thanked me but phwoaaarrrrr
I found out he had a girlfriend back home but I went off him after he dropped some papers with a load of girls numbers on. Just thought that wasn't nice for his girlfriend. But he did have his parents visit one weekend and they seemed a very nice family.
At the same hotel, while counting up the till in the reception back office, a colleague came in from reception and said a guest had walked in with what looked like 2 flamboyant prostitutes. I laughed as they went back outside and a minute later they ran back in and went 'oh my god its the
bleeping cheeky girls'
I went outside just to see for myself and yes they did look like two very eccentric prostitutes, with their manager booking them into a room. They were apparently performing at the local gay bar.
Met Sinbad from Brookside there but I think he was on Corrie at the time. He was very quiet, had breakfast at the hotel and was very polite.
Last but not least, I met Jedward at that same hotel. They were staying as they were performing locally, their manager gave my friend on reception a couple of free tickets so she asked if I fancied it for the laugh. We went to see them and they were actually very entertaining. Music was shite obviously but they performed without a break for about an hour and half, and I swear to god, they had die hard fans in that crowd. They brought out some of the items they had been sent by fans, like a pair of jumpsuits that had been embroidered with their names in sequins!! (why!) We left early to go back to the hotel to collect our stuff before going home,and as we arrived, Jedward ran into the lobby and we managed to get a picture with them and have a chat. They were really lovely!! Really chatty and friendly. As we waited outside for a taxi, we got chatting to a few girls and omg, they were Jedward's roadies
They told us they would work all summer, save their wages and buy tickets to most of their shows and follow them around the country. Our only question to them was '...But why?'
so there you have it, Jedward of all people had died hard roadies. Who'd have thunk it?