I was looking for an old photo yesterday, when I came across this one.

Many years ago, a friend of mine appeared on the TV show Blankety Blank – at that stage hosted by Les Dawson.

Tiny (ironically nicknamed because he was so big)  was allowed to take two guests with him, so he took his girlfriend and – as I had helped make his application successful – he invited me along as well.

When the time came, I had my leg in plaster, following an incident with my dog, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

We turned up at BBC Television Centre and were ushered in the direction of the studio.  Coming down the stairs at that point was Matthew Kelly, who was a big star at the time due to the television show Game For A Laugh.  As soon as he saw me, he made a beeline and came straight over and shook my hand: we had something in common, as he had recently had his leg in plaster following a parachute landing that didn’t go to plan.

After the show – which my mate won, incidentally – we were invited back to the Green Room for drinks and nibbles with the cast.  My poor memory prevents me from remembering everyone that was on the show, but I do remember Matthew Kelly, Cleo Rocos, Charlie Williams (a popular comedian at the time) and, of course, Les Dawson.

I felt like a bit of a celebrity myself, as they all queued up to sign my plaster cast.

Last to sign was Cleo Rocos, who had shot to fame as Kenny Everett’s sidekick.  She walked over, put an extra layer of bright red lipstick on and then got on her knees and planted a big smacker on my thigh, before signing it.

A few weeks later, at the hospital, I was having the cast removed. As she was doing it, the nurse was reading some of the signatures  on there. “Are these all real?” she asked.

“Oh yeah”, I said nonchalantly, as if those were the social circles I mixed in.

I kept the cast for a while, but it eventually crumbled and I threw it away.

About twenty years later, I heard Cleo being interviewed on the Danny Baker Breakfast Show, as I drove to work.  I pulled over to the side of the road and sent in a text asking whether she remembered kissing my leg.

I felt immensely gratified a few minutes later, when Danny asked her the question live on air and she said that she did remember.

Because it’s something I’ve never forgotten, either.