Ahh! celebrities. They make us star struck and sometimes they genuinely are as funny and nice as they are on the TV. Here are the ones I've come into contact with in the last 30+ years of working in advertising.
Ex Blue Peter star Richard Bacon hosted multiple episodes of Flipside in 2002.
Children's TV star Johnny Ball fronted some of our Tango sponsorship idents for Channel 4's The Word in 1994.
I went to a 'media' church in the early 2000's (St Paul's Onslow Square) and got chatting to Kiwi pop idol Daniel Bedingfield here
As Tango sponsored The Word, I was often at the show and afterparty, as was host Danni Behr.
Writing a Ladybird book about the internet would have been impossible without input from www inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee. He signed the book for me in 2015.
I met Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt backstage in Portsmouth in 2009. Hot Leg were the support band.
I met Cate Blanchett at the premier of Veronica Guerrin in 2003
Richard Briers voiced one of the animated characters in my 2004 Premier Travel Inn ads
Rob Brydon regularly voiced Tango animatics in the 90s. These were rough versions of ads that were used to research the ideas.
Comedian Allan Carr was a regular host of Flipside in 2002-3
Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey wanted to see how PR might help the Church of England and invited me to Lambeth Palace in 1998
Terry Christian was a co host of The Word when Tango was a sponsor
Maverick Xfm DJ Justin Lee Collins was a regular host of Flipside
The Professionals hard man, Lewis Collins was the VO on a bunch of AA commercials we filmed in the mid 90s.
Comedian High Dennis voiced some commercials and animatics for us in the mid 90s including Still Tango.
Comedian Harry Enfield reprised his 1940s 'Ministry of Information' character, Mr Grayson for a bunch of Mercury TV and print ads in the mid 90s.
Reality star Joey Essex starred in some Suzuki sponsorship idents for Celebrity Gogglebox in 2019.
I met Vanessa Feltz at the premiere of Veronica Guerrin in 2003
A fearless friend talked to Dr Who star Karen Gillan at the bar in the Groucho Club and the three of us spent a few happy hours chatting
Author and ex VP of Yahoo! Seth Godin was a huge fan of my Idea a Day website and wrote the introduction to 2004's Big Idea Book.
Singer and TV presenter David Grant invited me onto a Sunday morning religious quiz show in the late 90s. We filmed it but it never aired.
Shamed TV commentator Stuart Hall reprised his role as Its a Knockout host for our Tango sponsorship of Channel 4's The Word in 1994.
Bond star Naomie Harris was part of the team behind Next Meal in 2018.
Justin Hawkins is the only celebrity I'm actually friends with - it helped meeting him before he was famous. He's written jingles for my ads and I've written words for his songs.
Game of Thrones star, Bernard Hill voiced my Network Rail advert in 2009
Ferocious news anchor, John Humphrys interviewed me twice on Radio 4's Today programme, both times about posters I'd helped create to promote Christianity in the UK.
Nanny McPhee star Celia Imrie did some test voiceovers for me at JWT
House actor, Hugh Laurie teamed up with Richard Briers in 2004 to voice my Premier Travel Inn campaign.
Comedian and presenter Iain Lee was a regular host of Flipside in 2004
Juliet Lewis supported The Darkness on their 2009 UK tour and Mrs B and I chatted to her backstage
Singer Pixie Lott voiced The Hare and the Tortoise, an animated reworking of Aesop's fable for Shell in 2017.
Actor Paul McGann came in for a read through of my Network Rail commercial in 2009.
TV star Debbie McGee paired up with Joey Essex for some Suzuki sponsorship idents that appeared during Celebrity Gogglebox.
Maverick thinker Malcolm McLaren came and gave a talk at HHCL in the late 90s and became a fan of Idea a Day.
Actor Neil Morrissey took me for a drink at Soho House in 1997 when he was thinking of becoming a TV director.
I met Bob Mortimer on a night out at the Groucho Club with Declan Lowney who directed Father Ted and Cold Feet. I was trying to persuade Declan to direct a TV series I'd written.
1970's Blue Peter legend Peter Purves came to a casting session for the AA in the late 1990s and we chatted about Johnny Ball.
Agony Aunt Claire Rayner was the voice of my 2003 Domino's pizza campaign.
I spent an evening with Vic Reeves r on a night out in the Groucho Club in the late 1990s. He kept trying to find ways to wind up Geri Halliwell who was on the next table.
Duran Duran's Nik Rhodes was a teenage idol of mine. I met him judging pop promos for D&AD in 1998.
Newsreader Angela Rippon starred in my TV campaign for beeb.com in 2000.
Casualty actor Patrick Robinson starred in our Thomson Holidays campaign back in 1999.
I've met Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell a few times as her dad, Rob O Hara was an Arkwright collaborator in the early 2000s.
I was introduced to Leo Sayer at the Groucho Club in 2000 and Campaign magazine printed a photo of us.
I met Mike Skinner in Funky Buddha after a Flipside show and had a nice chat even though I had no idea it was him
I spent an evening with Suggs after an awards show, chatting about Idea a Day. He told me to call him Graham.
Cold Feet actor John Thompson was the voice of my 1999 Birdseye campaign.
Keyboard wizard Rik Wakeman interviewed me for Jesus Who? in 2004.
Eastenders actor Tom Watt starred in a 1996 TV ad for Still Tango
Bond actor Ben Whishaw starred in my 1999-2000 Birdseye campaign.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams unveiled my Church Christmas poster in 2008.
Hollywood superstar Kate Winslett is the most famous person I've ever worked with. She was the VO on my 2016-17 HSBC campaign.
I interviewed author and journalist Peter York for HHCL's ten year anniversary film in 1997.