Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan was spotted in a Harrogate bar last night.
The Irish actor, who was the fifth person to play 007, was seen having a drink at The Fat Badger on Cold Bath Road last night.
The Stray Ferret was sent a photo of Mr Brosnan enjoying a pint — rather than a martini — at the bar, which is part of The White Hart Hotel.
The 70-year-old played James Bond four times, including in Die Another Day and GoldenEye.
He has also featured in blockbusters such as the Mamma Mia! franchise, Survivor, Laws of Attraction and Mrs Doubtfire.
During his career, he has received two Golden Globe nominations for his performances in The Matador and Nancy Astor, as well as winning the outstanding European achievement in world cinema award at the European Film Awards in 2016.
Mr Brosnan even won a Razzie Award for worst supporting actor for his role in Mamma Mia!.
Pic: Nicholas PJ Snape
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He is not the first familiar face to be spotted in the Harrogate district, which became something of a celebrity hotspot last year.
Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, who rose to fame in Titanic, visited the Crown Hotel at Middlesmoor last May.
Leathal Weapon star Danny Glover dined at Efes Bar and Grill in the summer, while world-famous DJ Calvin Harris was spotted at Wetherby Services in August.
Meanwhile, TV personality and writer Gyles Brandreth bemoaned his poor night’s sleep at a Harrogate hotel following his one-man show at the Royal Hall, and Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp praised Bettys’ cake as the “nectar of paradise”.
And Morrissey, enigmatic former frontman of The Smiths, was spotted having a quiet pint at The Harrogate Arms.
Send us your pictures and selfies if you bump into any famous people in the district. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Looking Back: The celebs who visited Harrogate in 2023
Throughout 2023, the Harrogate district became something of a celebrity hotspot.
Gyles Brandeth bemoaned of a sleepless night in a Harrogate hotel, while Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp described Bettys cakes as a “nectar of paradise”.
And heaven knows what Morrissey was doing here…
Today, we’re looking back at some star-studded visits to the district, and what some celebrities had to say about the local area.
Kate Winslet visits Nidderdale pub
Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet visited the Crown at Middlesmoor with her family in May.
Landlady Angela Snow, said she was “starstruck” by the Hollywood star, who had been walking around Scar House Reservoir before stopping at the village pub.
Ms Snow told the Stray Ferret:
“To be honest, I wouldn’t have known. I was in the kitchen cooking when my bar lady Megan recognised her.
“As she was leaving, I asked for a photo to put up behind the bar. She said she usually pretends to be someone else, but she said she would because it was such a nice pub.”
Kate Winslet rose to fame after her landing a role in Titanic. Since then, she has become a household name and has starred in Sense and Sensibility, Avatar and The Holiday.
As well as winning the Oscar for best actress for her performance in The Reader, Kate Winslet has been nominated a further six times. She has won three Baftas, two Emmys, a Grammy and five Golden Globes.
Kate Winslet, centre, with Megan Dunn and Angela Snow at the Crown in Middlesmoor
Heaven knows what Morrissey was up to in Harrogate
Morrissey, the enigmatic former frontman of The Smiths, was spotted enjoying a quiet pint in Harrogate in March.
Chris Russell from Knaresborough caused a stir when he posted a photo of him and the influential star in The Harrogate Arms where Mozza was apparently relaxed and happy to pose for photos with fans.
Pete Murphy, manager of the pub, said:
“We only had four or five tables in, so it wasn’t busy, but a few people recognised him and had photos with him.
“We get the odd Leeds player in, but that’s the first singer I’ve seen.”
in typically mysterious Morrissey style, his reason for being in Harrogate remains unknown.
Morrissey with Chris Russell.
Lethal Weapon star dines in Harrogate restaurant
Danny Glover, star of the Lethal Weapon franchise, dined at Efes Bar and Grill this summer.
The 77-year-old Hollywood star was in town for the Yorkshire Comic-Con.
He posed for photos with the restaurant staff, which had opened just weeks prior to his visit.
Glover is most famous for his role as Roger Murtaugh, but has also starred in The Colour Purple and Predator 2.
He is also known for his political activism, strongly opposing the Bush administration in America.
Danny Glover pictured at Efes Bar and Grill in Harrogate.
DJ Calvin Harris spotted at Wetherby Services
One of the biggest names in music, Calvin Harris, was spotted at Wetherby Services in August.
The star, who is the 23rd most played artist in the world on Spotify, was on his way back from Creamfields festival after fans spotted him at Pret A Manger.
The fans, who were headed to Newcastle, had watched the Scottish DJ headline the festival just two nights prior to meeting him.
Livvy Elder, one of the fans, said:
“My friend was the one to ask him for a photo and told him we were sorry for disturbing him for a photo, but he was the kindest man so humble – he said it was no problem at all.
“It totally topped off our weekend and was a moment we will never forget!”
Calvin Harris boasts nearly 60 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He also has an annual residency at one of the largest clubs in the world, Ushuaia, Ibiza, and has had 11 UK No.1 songs.
Calvin Harris (centre) with fans.
Gyles Brandreth endures sleepless night in Harrogate hotel bed
TV personality and writer, Gyles Brandreth, took to social media to tell of his sleepless night in a Harrogate hotel.
The raconteur said the bed “tilted to the left so that I had to cling on all night” following his visit in September.
The poor-nights-sleep came after he appeared at the Royal Hall for his one-man show, Gyles Brandreth Can’t Stop Talking.
However, he did praise the “warm and wonderful audience” in Harrogate.
He later praised The Ivy for its “delicious post-show supper: cheese soufflé followed by iced berries”.
Let’s hope Gyles Brandreth finds a comfier bed on his next visit to Harrogate…
Gykes Brandreth with The Ivy staff.
Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp say Bettys is “heart and soul of humanity”
Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp praised Bettys online after their gig in Harrogate.
In a YouTube video posted in October, the couple described the tearoom as a “quality establishment”. Robert Fripp said he’d been to the York branch before, but said the Harrogate venue was “something of a pilgrimage.”
Toyah added:
“You may think we’re complete idiots for being so in love with this experience, but it was the heart and soul of humanity. We could talk to everyone, everyone really cared, it was kind, it was utterly amazing.”
They described a cake they’d saved from their visit as “the nectar of paradise” and “a relic from the shrine of St Betty”.
The couple also shared their love for the whole town in the video. Toyah added:
“Robert’s never been to Harrogate and he absolutely loved it, and I loved it too. It’s such a special place, and if ever you’re visiting the UK or just having a holiday in the UK, and you’ve not been to Harrogate, go – it’s beautiful!”
Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp.
Based on this year’s celebrity visits, the Stray Ferret is excited to see what, or whom, 2024 will bring. Do let us know if you see a star out and about.
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Looking Back: The funnier stories of 2023
It’s in the nature of news that a lot of the stories we read are, well, not very uplifting – robberies, redundancies and road accidents are not exactly mood-enhancers.
But there is another, lighter side to the news, so as we turn our backs on the last 12 months, we thought we’d take one last look at some of the funnier stories that raised a smile in 2023.
The horse that wasn’t a horse
Back in January, firefighters were called to rescue a horse from floodwaters near Ripon, only to discover it was a metal sculpture.
Group manager Bob Hoskins, who works for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted:
“An officer trotted off to check out the situation and discovered a statue of a horse in the middle of the field.
“There was ‘neigh’ further assistance required on this occasion.”
The silhouette sculpture of a war-weary soldier and his horse was placed in the field in 2018 as part of a programme of events and commemorations to mark the centenary of the Great War.
The bossy steps
In April, a set of steps at Harrogate railway station came to national attention when All Creatures Great and Small star Samuel West tweeted that he felt “slightly harassed” by it.
The steps feature various injunctions, such as “Watch your step”, “Keep the left”, and “Don’t use mobile phones on stairs”, leading one X (formerly Twitter) user to call them a “seriously bossy set of steps”.
Several said they would be too worried about tripping to read all the messages.
A spokesperson for rail operator Northern said:
“We carry out regular inspections of the stations across our network and we’ll certainly take this into consideration.”
The £2,000 cowpat
In May, a fresh cowpat helped Masham woman Kathryn Driver hit paydirt.
Kathryn scooped £2,000 when she won Masham Community Office’s Cow Pat Competition, which was the surprise hit of the town’s coronation bank holiday celebrations.
The competition saw four cows (see main image), named for the occasion Storm Pooper, Harry Plopper, Poo Patrol and Daisy Dung, let out to roam around a fenced-off piece of land.
The land had been divided into squares, and tickets sold in advance at £1 per square. The winner would be whoever held the ticket corresponding to the square the first cowpat landed on.
Hundreds of people turned out to watch, and after nearly an hour’s wait it was Storm Pooper who produced the goods on Kathryn’s square. She said:
“I can’t believe it! It’s amazing. My mum got the ticket for me, so I’m going to use the money to pay for a holiday and take my mum away.”
The event raised £5,000, which went towards the purchase of Masham Community Office’s building, The Old Police Station, retaining it as a community hub.
Hayley Jackson, community office manager, said:
“Who would have thought cowpats would bring the community together like this?”
Have we got nudes for you
More than 80 people shed their clothes in July to take part in the first ever naked walk around the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, near Masham.
The two-kilometre hike for over-18s was one of a series of fundraising Naked Heart Walks organised over the summer by British Naturism, which promotes naturism.
The walks at stately homes and gardens were advertised as opportunities to let people “feel the breeze on your skin as you raise money for the British Heart Foundation”.
Sasha Jackson-Brown, estate and operations manager at the Himalayan garden, said the venue’s remote location made it suitable and the event attracted a good turnout, even though “the weather could have been a bit warmer for them”.
The cow in the park
In August, people enjoying the sunny weather in the Valley Gardens in Harrogate were shocked to see a loose cow casually ambling towards the Magnesia Well Tea Room.
Dog-walker Lucy Emma Renshaw-Martin told the Stray Ferret she had no idea how the cow, which appeared to be a Holstein or Friesian, ended up in the park, which is nowhere near any fields.
That mystery was not solved by a statement issued later by North Yorkshire Police, which simply said that “the cow was reunited with its owner”.
However, Harrogate Writers’ Circle member Carole Keegan came up with a wordier response, penning a poem to mark the event.
The sleepless celebrity
TV personality Gyles Brandreth took to Twitter (now X) after enduring a sleepless night on a tilting bed in Harrogate.
The author and raconteur was appearing in September at the Royal Hall for his one-man show Gyles Brandreth Can’t Stop Talking.
At 7am the next morning, he tweeted:
“The view from right here right now… very little sleep on a bed that tilted to the left so that I had to cling on all night. The hotel is in King’s Road but has no number so in the dark we couldn’t find it. Taxi couldn’t find it either. Eventually we did. Rather wish we hadn’t.”
The bed was so bad, he even tried to book into a different hotel in the dead of night, only to find it was full.
Mr Brandreth declined to name and shame the establishment to his 208,000 followers.
After his show, he hailed the “warm and wonderful audience” and said it was “a privilege to be on the stage that both Ken Dodd & Marlene Dietrich once appeared on. Not together. (Though wouldn’t that have been glorious?)”.
Gyles Brandreth at The Ivy in Harrogate – before his sleepless night.
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Gyles Brandreth endures sleepless night in ’tilting’ Harrogate hotel bed
TV personality Gyles Brandreth has bemoaned the state of a Harrogate hotel after enduring a sleepless night on a tilting bed.
The author and raconteur appeared at the Royal Hall last night for his one-man show Gyles Brandreth Can’t Stop Talking.
His prolific tweets indicated the evening went well — until it was time for bed.
At about 7am this morning, he posted the following unappealing image and said:
“The view from right here right now … very little sleep on a bed that tilted to the left so that I had to cling on all night. The hotel is in King’s Road but has no number so in the dark we couldn’t find it. Taxi couldn’t find it either. Eventually we did. Rather wish we hadn’t.”
In response to a tweet suggesting he should have called reception, he said:
“There was no reception. At midnight we tried to book in to the Crowne Plaza opposite, but it was full.”
Mr Brandreth declined calls to name and shame the establishment to his 208,000 followers.
After his show last night he hailed the “warm and wonderful audience” and said it was “a privilege to be be on the stage that both Ken Dodd & Marlene Dietrich once appeared on. Not together. (Though wouldn’t that have been glorious?)”.
He later praised The Ivy for its “delicious post-show supper: cheese soufflé followed by iced berries”.
Mr Brandreth added:
“Normally at this time of night, we’re perched on the edge of our bed in the local Premier Inn with a Pret sandwich. Tonight we’re in Harrogate being treated to this …. Thank you.”
However, his night appeared to go downhill once he left The Ivy.
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