Hollywood superstar John Travolta amazed fans by popping into a Morrisons and a Wetherspoons pub. The A-lister happily chatted with fellow customers and staff and posed for selfies during his visits.
Pulp Fiction, Grease and Saturday Night Fever icon Travolta, 68, and two friends are said to have tucked into burgers and pizza at the pub on Thursday night. And he was then spotted on Saturday buying steak and other groceries with two bodyguards at a Morrisons store.
Law student Jamie Salter, 20, talked to the actor at the The Romany Rye in Dereham, Norfolk, describing it as “a surreal experience.” He said: “Meeting John Travolta was incredible. Dereham doesn’t usually play host to some of the most famous Hollywood stars on the planet.
READ MORE: Soap actress Jennifer Wilson who appeared in ITV Corrie and Casualty has died aged 89
“I feel extremely lucky to of met him as it certainly wasn’t what I expected to experience on a Thursday night out in Dereham. I enjoy going to The Romany Rye often and never would have anticipated my night going this way.
“We were sat at another table at the Wetherspoons and a couple of staff members pointed him out. We didn’t believe them, but I walked past and got a glimpse of him. At first no one was 100-per-cent sure if it was really him, nor did anyone else want to go up and find out.”
(Image: East Anglia News Service)
He continued: “I went over to his table, excused myself for disturbing them, and asked ‘is it John?’. If the reply of ‘it certainly is’ wasn’t enough, the strong American accent further confirmed my suspicions.
“I went on to ask if I could shake his hand and get a picture. He told me how he was over here for a week filming for a Christmas movie at a local airstrip.
“Mr Travolta was happy to speak with me and came across as genuinely happy to speak to his fans although probably relaxing after a day of filming as it was nearly 11pm!”
He added: “I didn’t want to bother him too much so I said ‘enjoy your meal’ and then left, and as I did the two staff members who pointed him out went and got a photo with him.”
“But I don’t think many other people would have gone up to him because he was right in the corner and no-one else had clocked that he was there.”
The Face/Off legend shopped at Morrisons in nearby Fakenham while staying locally. The star has been filming at Raynham Hangar Studios in West Raynham, Norfolk. Gary Middleton, 48, a part-time security guard at the Morrisons store, said Travolta had spent about an hour in the store, happily talking to customers and staff.
He told how he bumped into Travolta near the bread counter, saying: “He looked at me as I passed hIm and put his hand out to shake mine. We exchanged a few words and had a little joke together. I was so lucky to get a picture.”
(Image: East Anglia News Service)
Mr Middleton said the star told him that he had decided to go out himself after sending out runners to do shopping for him earlier in the week at Waitrose. He said he appeared to have been buying “just the average everyday essentials” although he was told that he had also got a fillet steak.
Mr Middleton added: “Once people realised who it was they all started to get excited. He was quite smart-looking, well built and very polite to all the staff here.
“He looks a bit different to the way people remember him from the 1970s and 80s, or with his long, dark hair from Pulp Fiction. But you could tell who it was from the smile in his eyes. We had a really nice chat.
“He had his picture taken with quite a few people in here, including a lady with a walking stick who was desperate to get a picture.”
He added: “When I put it on my Facebook everyone said I was mucking around and they didn’t believe it was true, but it was. He had time for everyone.”
Morrisons staff member Nicola Gee, said: “I was going about my normal duties at Morrisons in Fakenham and I looked up and saw the one and only John Travolta in our store.
(Image: East Anglia News Service)
“We questioned whether it was actually him at first as I just do not think that we ever imagined that we would see a film star in Fakenham.
“We approached him and asked him if we could have a photo taken with him, he was very pleasant and agreed – a memory to treasure.”
Travolta arrived in the UK after appearing on stage at the Oscars in Los Angeles dancing with Pulp Fiction co-star Uma Thurman in a recreation of their famous twist scene in the classic 1994 film.
He has been filming The Shepherd, based on the novella of the same name written by Frederick Forsyth in 1975.
Travolta revealed his part in the film on Sunday when he posted a video of himself and his daughter Ella Bleu enjoying a tradition English afternoon tea in a Norfolk country hotel on her 22nd birthday.
The actor who has 3.8m followers said in a post accompanying the video: “Happy birthday my dearest Ella! I love you so much.
“We’re here in England having afternoon tea to celebrate and I’m also here to shoot a short film called, ‘The Shepherd’ based on a book by Frederick Forsyth that I’ve always loved.”
A spokesperson for pub chain JD Wetherspoon said: “John Travolta has shown himself to be a regular person by enjoying a drink and a meal at one of our pubs.”
