Slebs

I'm not much interested in meeting celebrities generally. What if it was someone you'd admired for decades and they were either horribly rude or very dull?

I have met one or two though. Here's the extent of my name-dropping.

I've met Sir Ian McKellen a few times as he was really kind to me when I was a stage-struck teenager and used to send me postcards when he was on tour. He is a Really Good Thing as well as a great actor.

Bob Hoskins once stood behind me in a queue for tickets at The West Yorkshire Playhouse. I didn't speak to him, just marvelled at how small he was, for such a big presence.

Again at The West Yorkshire Playhouse, I met Una Stubbs and she was delightful. I had to tell her how much I'd loved the film Summer Holiday when I was younger (I didn't point out that it was the first film that I ever saw). She was very gracious about it and I liked her.

At the Grand Theatre, Leeds, once I met actor and director Jonathan Miller. He was lovely.

And - er - I think that's it. If you're a celebrity, and I've met you and forgotten, I do apologise. All the above are to do with theatre, I notice. I've met lots of actors of course, but most of them wouldn't fit into the "celebrity" bracket.

In general, I have no real desire to meet the people I admire, in case, as I've explained, all my illusions are shattered.

Except, I think, for one. There's just one celebrity whom I'd like to meet.

I used to know his nephew Michael slightly years ago - the son of this celebrity's equally famous brother Richard - and I used to turn green with envy when he told me he was going to visit Uncle David at the weekend.

Yes, Sir David Attenborough. When I first started watching wildlife programmes on television they mostly consisted of Look, presented by Sir Peter Scott (son of Scott of the Antarctic) - - and hey, I've just remembered to tell you that I met Peter Scott once, too! I used to belong to the Panda Club of the World Wildlife Fund and he came to talk to us in the early Sixties, and he was wearing bright red socks, and drew our attention to this risque attire.

So David Attenborough was the new kid on the block to me, along with Gerald Durrell, who also went to exotic places to find wildlife. I loved Gerald Durrell's books, which are very funny. I loved David Attenborough's television programmes, and have done ever since.

I heard him talking on Radio Two today and thought yes, I'd like to meet him, because I know that he'd be just as I expect. He's one of my heroes, and I think he'd be fascinating too.