STARS AND CELEBRITIES: Taxi drivers share their experiences of driving well-known punters
Although all well-behaved paying passengers are considered “good passengers”, picking up a well-known celebrity is definitely one of the perks of being a taxi driver (well, most of the time).
Cab drivers from around the UK have been sharing some of their favourite celebrity passengers from over the years, and the list makes for good reading.
We start by hearing of not one but two of Britain’s finest ever male actors in the back of a cab. One cabbie was lucky enough to pick up Michael Caine and 007 himself, Roger Moore. The taxi driver said it was “probably the best 20 minutes” of his life (we’re not going to ask for any more details!).
Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin came up a number of times, with cabbies calling him an “absolute diamond bloke” and a “top fella”.
British rom-com actor Hugh Grant had a number of mentions, with one driver saying that after returning a coat left in his cab by Hugh, he was given a lovely thank you gift in the way of a £50 note.
Two TV legends who are sadly no longer with us, Bruce Forsyth and Barbara Windsor were also given glowing endorsements by one taxi driver who said “both of them were so nice and down to earth”.
Rockstar brothers, Noel and Liam Gallagher, who are known for catching a black taxi or two, both got a mention on the list, with one cabbie saying: “Liam Gallagher had me in stitches. I got a photo with him and said ‘Liam you know this is going on Twitter’.
His reply was ‘you can tattoo it on your arse for all I care’.” Brother Noel was said to be a big football talker, although one cabbie said he didn’t think he liked it when Spurs and the Champions League match with his beloved Manchester City was mentioned.
The late pop icon George Michael was called an “absolute legend” and Hollywood superstar Harrison Ford was called a “lovely fella”.
One of the funniest encounters mentioned has got to be when one cabbie picked up comedian Lee Evans, who had the driver phone his wife to tell her of his famous passenger, only for his wife to think it was a joke before telling the funny man to “f*** off”, thinking it was one of her husband’s friends trying to prank her.
Other famous celebrities who have put a smile on their taxi driver’s face include David Attenborough, Gary Oldman, Jeremy Clarkson, Jeremy Paxman, Frank Lampard, Brian May, Richard Wilson (“I don’t believe it!”), Stephen Fry, Sir Robin Day, Paul Newman, Sir Paul McCartney, Kathy Burke, Sir Alex Ferguson, Joan Collins, Paul Whitehouse and two of Hollywood’s most successful movie directors Ridley-Scott and Quentin Tarantino.
