Nine celebrities and famous people who came to Cornwall this year – Cornwall Live
More people holidayed here than ever before
Cornwall’s status as many people’s holiday destination has its drawbacks. The traffic, the smattering of rude tourists – and more.
But one of the upsides is the ability to nose on celebrities when they’re on holiday here, and usually get a cheeky photo when they do.
This year in particular, the ‘Summer of Staycations’ has seen plenty of internationally (and just nationally, at times) famous people come to the duchy.
Read: Cornish politicians and their gaffes, odd comments or convictions
From olympians enjoying the surf to the Queen cutting a cake with a sword – Cornish celeb spotters have had a bumper year.
Here are nine celebrities and famous people who descended on Cornwall this year.
Olympic gold medalist Sir Mo Farah was spotted in Newquay in October, enjoying some well-earned rest time surfing and getting photographed with RNLI lifeguards.
The long-distance runner was at Fistral Beach for the legendary waves, and was well-received by locals and the lifeguards alike.
A spokesperson for the lifeguards wrote on their Facebook page that it was "fantastic to see Sir Mo Farah enjoying our Cornish beaches".
They added: "Had a great time at Fistral being looked after by our team."
He also had a drink at the beach bar, much to the delight of the starstruck staff.
In June, world leaders from the G7 member countries, as well as a few others, arrived in Carbis Bay for the leaders’ summit.
This huge event shined the international spotlight on Cornwall as leaders from the US, UK, EU, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, South Africa and South Korea came to little ol’ Cornwall.
Internationally-recognisable faces including Angela Merkel, Joe Biden and, of course, Boris Johnson came to the summit.
The leaders met at Carbis Bay Hotel to talk Covid, international relations, and climate change – among other issues.
There were plenty of highlights across the weekend, from Joe Biden being photobombed by a seagull to Boris Johnson awkwardly taking a dip in the chilly waters of Carbis Bay.
As well as the leaders, the Queen came to Cornwall as an honorary guest of the Summit, meeting the leaders at the Eden Project just months after losing Prince Philip.
She cut a cake with a sword, too.
While the former Doctor Who and The Crown star wasn’t here on holiday, he popped down to Cornwall multiple times this year.
Matt Smith is one of the stars of the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon which was filmed in various Cornish locations including St Michael’s Mount and Holywell Beach.
After being long-lens photographed in April when he arrived with co-star Emma D’Arcy on Holywell to film, he was then seen in September at Kynance Cove in full Targaryen costume greeting locals at a café and playing with one of their dogs.
You can read more about the House of the Dragon filming here.
The singer superstar posted a video to his Instagram of a break away with friends in Polzeath.
The group were enjoying a holiday at a motorhome, and were seen on the beach, drinking, and enjoying time on nearby cliffs.
The only chef to feature in more memes than Gordon Ramsay, Ainsley was pulled up by many fans during his stay in Cornwall this year.
He came to Carbis Bay in September, and was spotted cooking at one of the seafront lodges while filming for a new ITV show.
Rachel Loveridge, a local resident, met the famous chef and said he was lovely and happy to meet fans.
She said: "He met and took pictures with anyone who wanted one. I thought he was a very nice man and was really cheerful. There were no diva moments whilst he was filming either.
"We did his famous 'Susie salt' and 'Percy Pepper' hand movements for the photo."
Controversial TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson came to Cornwall to “relive” a childhood holiday, travelling to Portscatho, St Mawes and Porthleven.
He had a “historic” meal at Kota Kai in Porthleven, and said he’s likely to just visit Cornwall from now on instead of going abroad.
Clarkson drove his £207,000 Bentley Continental GT Mulliner around Cornwall in summer, a move his partner called “stupid.”
From Top Gear past to Top Gear present, cricketer-turned-TV presenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff set off from Plymouth down to Cornwall for an episode of the BBC’s flagship motor show.
As well as the presenters’ cars being spotted driving through various towns in the county, Flintoff himself surprised Bodmin residents when he showed up at one of their gyms for a workout.
Flintoff went to ProGym, and was described by owner Richard HIdderly as a “top chap and down to earth.”
Read the full story here.
A Cornish cricket club had to pause a game midway unexpectedly when a helicopter came in for a landing.
Brian May, former Queen guitarist, turned heads in a way only a classic rocker could when he and his wife landed their private chopper on the grounds of Falmouth Cricket Club, before heading to a wedding.
There were rumours he was in the county to attend the wedding of former bandmate Roger Taylor, who is from Truro.
Locals described the bizarre event, and managed to snap a few pics as he headed across the pitch.
6ft 6ins TV presenter and comedian Richard Osman turned heads when he visited a village with residents a fraction of his size.
The village was, admittedly, Polperro’s model one – but that doesn’t detract from how utterly huge Osman is.
You can read the full story and reactions to this visit from back in July here.
For more celebrities in the duchy, go to our Facebook page ‘Cornwall Celebrity Spotting’, which can be found here. There are even more which aren't mentioned in this article.
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