Herefordshire is hidden away but packs a punch when it comes to local celebrities. We had a few blowouts too, and it’s worth a mention. So who do we have?
Anyone who lives in the county will agree that it’s a very special place. Home to hills, historical buildings and some great people. Herefordshire is also home to all kinds of celebrities from Hollywood A-Listers, famous authors and reality TV stars.
Then there are those who were born and raised here, who know those back roads around Hereford like the back of their hands and can remember the old recreation center and cattle market. We’ve put together a list of some of the famous Herefordshire sons and daughters, stars you might discover nowadays and those with real connections to the county.
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Ellie Goulding
The singer/songwriter/pop star, was raised in a council house in Lyonchal in North Herefordshire. She attended high school in nearby Kington, before completing A-level at Hereford Sixth College. A royal favorite (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had asked her to perform at their wedding), she was introduced to her old husband Etonian by her personal friend, Princess Eugenie.
Frank Oz
Hollywood star of the Star Wars series, The Muppets, Frank Richard Oz-born Frank Richard Osnowicz was born in Hereford in 1944. His parents, who arrived here after fleeing war-torn Holland, were professional puppeteers. Via Belgium, Oz landed in the United States with his family in 1951, thus starting his own puppet saga.
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Elizabeth Hurley
The actress/model and headliner of popular gossip, lives in her luxurious country mansion near Ledbury. Her sister Kate lives in an underground shack. Liz, star of Bedazzled and Austin Powers, is an avid social media user, and shares her enviable lifestyle with her followers.
pretenders
James Honeyman Scott (guitar/vocals), Pete Farndon (bass guitar/vocals) and Martin Chambers (drums/percussion), all born in Hereford, were founding members of Chrissy Hynd’s band, The Pretenders.
the death of the hobble
He is best known for his famous Dave Bowie song, ‘All the Young Dudes’, which was composed by some of the Hereford men. The guitarist was Mick Ralphs of Stoke Lacy and Pete Overend Watts and Dale Griffin both from Ross-on-Wye.
Bruce Robinson
The actor/director/screenwriter was born in London, but made West Herefordshire his home. The screenplay for the black comedy film, Withnell and Me, has become one of the greatest British cult classics of all time. Based on Robinson’s life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, played by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGahn.
Monty Don
The gardener/writer/presenter is the most well-known face of the long-running BBC programme, The Gardener’s World. He moved to a village near Leominster in the early 1990s and set out to restore an acre deserted field, called Longmeadow. He later introduced the Gardener’s World from the site.
Kate Bliss
TV presenter/vintage expert often seen on television. Educated at Hereford Cathedral School, after studying fine art at Oxford, she joined local auctioneers and appraisers, Brightwells. She has appeared frequently on the TV shows Flog It! The secret merchants.
John Shalis
AKA Boycie: Actor, whose most famous role was as Boycie, a used car salesman on the popular BBC series, Only Fools and Horses. But before that he had a successful Shakespearean career. In 1998, he made Herefordshire his home, when he bought Abbot’s Lodgings in Wigmore Abbey Grange, Edforton, which he renovated with his wife.
Lord Rogers
OK, maybe not a household name, but a celebrity of some sort? Robert James Rogers, Baron Lesvin, KCB, DL Served as Clerk of the House of Commons from October 2011 until August 2014. Appointed to Life Peer in 2014, he is a member of the House of Lords.
Matthew Hall
Screenwriter/lawyer who lives in South Herefordshire. A former student at Hereford Cathedral School, he was called to the bar in 1990, before becoming a full-time writer in 1995. His most recent television work is the barnstorming series, Keeping Faith, for which he won a Welsh BAFTA Award in 2018.
Marc Labbett
English language test and TV personality. Since 2009, he has been one of the “stalkers” on the ITV game show The Chase, and from late February 2022 he has rejoined the Australian version of the show. He previously appeared between 2013 and 2015 on the US version of GSN as their only stalker; between 2016 and 2020 as one of six stalkers on the Australian version; and as one of four stalkers in the second season of ABC’s American revival. His nickname in these shows is “The Beast”.
Labette was a math and physical education teacher at Caldecott School in Caldecott, Monmouthshire outside of our county. It is not known for certain where The Beast lives, but he has often been seen in downtown Hereford with his dog and in pubs such as the Wye Inn on the south side of town.
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