They say you should never meet your heroes...but if you do you might as well have your picture taken with them.

In the age of the selfie, everyone can be famous for five minutes. But the celebrity selfie is nothing new. A recent call-out I did for T&A readers to send in photos of themselves with famous faces has prompted a lively response, with various snaps featuring everyone from a Doctor Who to the Beatles. Some photos were taken at stage doors of dance halls and theatres as far back as the Sixties, while others are quick mobile snaps in the street or bars and airports.

And celebrities know how to play the game. Where once they might have hidden behind a cloak of enigma, these days even the ones high up on the fame ladder are savvy to the power of social media. Just ask Tom Cruise, a man who’s no stranger to working a crowd, who recently posted footage of himself in a cinema, wearing a face mask, surrounded by regular punters.

Whether it’s a Love Island throwback or a Hollywood A-lister, most of us will likely have encountered someone relatively famous at some time - often in random circumstances.

A few years ago I was celebrating my birthday in a Liverpool hotel when we noticed the bar filling up with TV and pop stars. Turns out the ‘Scouseology’ awards had just taken place in the hotel, and everyone from Ken Dodd to the Zutons was spilling into the bar. Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, alias Jim and Barbara from the Royle Family, someone from The Full Monty and various members of the Brookside cast...they were all delightful and we ended up having our pictures taken with them. When you’re dancing into the small hours with Sinbad from Brookie you know it’s a birthday to remember.

Sometimes you just happen to be rubbing shoulders with a stranger who looks strangely familiar. My dad’s claim to fame was once standing next to Pat Phoenix, alias Corrie’s Elsie Tanner, in a pub. My sister spotted Nasty Nick from EastEnders on the spinning teacups in a theme park. I saw Janette Krankie on a cross-Channel ferry, and sat opposite Marc Almond on the Tube. My mum once stood behind a scruffy bloke she thought was Liam Gallagher in an airport. He turned out to be Keanu Reeves. My brother-in-law saw Bill Bryson on holiday in Devon, and when he asked: “Are you Bill Bryson?” the bloke said: “No mate, I’m Bill Bailey.”

I once took my friend, a massive Gary Barlow fan, along to a press event with him and she was so overwhelmed in his presence she stumbled against a wall, in a Mills & Boon swoon. When we moved in for a selfie, Gazza was practically propping her up...

Probably the nicest star I’ve had a photo with was Barbara Windsor. After a lovely interview with her she said: “Do you want a picture love?” - and it would’ve been a great pic of the two of us, had some irritating radio presenter not photo-bombed it.

It’s not all smiles with selfies though. My ex is still bruised by the memory of meeting, as a young boy, his cricket hero Fred Trueman and asking for his autograph. Trueman told him to “B****r off”.

And my joy at interviewing one of my childhood heroes, from Starsky and Hutch, soon faded when Paul Michael Glaser turned out to be monosyllabic and surly. I asked for a photo, he reluctantly obliged, growling: “Everyone wants a picture,” as he stared stony-faced at the camera. The fact that he also had a grey bushy beard and looked nothing like Starsky made it a less-than-impressive selfie.

l Can you do better? Send your celeb selfies to emma.clayton@nqyne.co.uk