‘What is your weird claim to fame?’ – 23 utterly unlikely ways people have gained a little bit of stardom

13.

‘I accidentally came 3rd in a poetry competition in a national newspaper. I say accidentally because it was a text message poetry comp (back in the days of yore when there was a character limit) and I just idly texted in what I thought was a humorous message.

Didn’t believe the journalist who phoned me to tell me. One of the judges praised my structure – someone working on the competition arranged my long text into lines. All the other winners were things like English PHD students, I was on the dole at the time.

Years later I discovered my ‘poem’ had been published in an anthology. Told one of my friends recently, she fancies herself as a bit of a writer and was fuming haha. “YOU’RE in a book with Maya Angelou? MAYA FUCKING ANGELOU? And YOU???”‘
–charlytune

14.

‘I was the voice of Vizzavi mobile for three days between the last guy getting fired and a voice over artist being hired on the Monday. I did a variety of accents… most hilariously bad. They went for the one that sounded like Talkie Toaster in Red Dwarf. Fun times.’
–sharkkallis

15.

‘I was once one of the fake decoy pop stars in the lineup round of Nevermind the Buzzcocks.’
–Slink_Wray

16.

‘I showed Nelson Mandela around my school in Birmingham in 1993. I was 8 years old. Wish to Christ I’d been older, it probably would have meant more to me than it did at 8!’
–Fantastic-Bad142

17.

‘I’m a barber and I did the hairs of men who were appearing on a Trinny and Suzanne program (the name of the show escapes me). They filmed me doing the cuts. Although they had their own stylist who did their hair for the final reveal of their new style.

When the program aired me and the family sat around the telly in anticipation of my appearance. Didn’t get one second of airtime.’
–PMc1666

18.

‘Went on a pilot TV show as a kid. Met Eamon Holmes and Spandau Ballet. Looking back it was very Alan Partridge.’
–Orange-Cloud25

19.

‘I was on the closing credits for Brazil Vs Honduras in the 2012 Olympics at St James’s Park. 40000 people, and they picked the lad from Derbyshire with a Brazil flag on his cheek!’
–ChompsnRosie

20.

‘Elvis and I share a family tree. Clearly not close enough for a Pink Cadillac, but never mind.’
–Moody_Immortal_1

21.

‘Not me but a friend tottering down Warrington high street at 2am on some “drunken Britain” TV segment that everyone at her work saw.’
–fairkatrina

22.

‘Nigel Slater told me I’d had made a ‘fine pie’ when I tagged him on my Insta after making one his recipes.’
–surreyade

23.

‘I was the last ever person to speak to Quentin Crisp.’
–Questingcloset

Source r/AskUK Image Screenshot