An anecdote that was kindly sent by a viewer-

Long ago, I was a cadet in the Merchant Navy. It was just after Christmas 1959 and we'd just arrived in Southampton, back from a Mediterranean trip. I'd been ashore drinking with one or two of my fellow cadets, not much, we didn't have much money. Anyway after the pubs closed we wound up in this late snack bar which apart from the staff, was virtually empty except for a man sitting alone at the counter. That man was John Gregson who was either still making or had just finished making the cruise ship comedy 'The Captain's Table' though we didn't know it at the time. The staff were clearly wondering who he was and guessing in the usual way that staff do when not sure if they are serving a celebrity. Anyway John had had a few himself and was not in the mood to be approached so we stayed out of his way and kept our distance.

However, the weird twist to this story came years later in 1975, the year John died. I was up for my Master's Ticket and by some strange quirk of fate, I had started to bear a striking resemblance to him and had been told so on a number of occasions. So it happened that as I walked into this pub one afternoon, the same thing happened to me. The staff started whispering and smiling as they looked in my direction and I knew that they thought I was him, even though a younger version, especially when the manager came over and said " Excuse me sir, but you're that actor aren't you. Is it John Gregson? It was a great feeling, but of course I had to deny it which made everything fall flat and then I left. I wonder sometimes if there isn't some strange synchronicity in life that occasionally manifests in these odd coincidences and of course Angels One Five was on the box the other day and that has finally prompted me to mention this.

CH