COMEDIAN John Bishop visited Castlepoint Shopping Centre ahead of his show at the BIC tonight.

The 47-year-old was spotted by comedy fan Jules Mackle and her son Jay as he browsed the aisles at Sports Direct in the Bournemouth retail park.

And the star even posed for a photograph with 11-year-old Jay – although asked for it to be taken inside the shop rather than outside in public.

Jules, who lives in Christchurch, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw him in Sports Direct.

“I was a bit nervous about asking him for a photo, but we saw one of his friends standing by the door and asked if it would be ok.

“He said it wouldn’t be a problem but asked if we could do it inside because John would be mobbed if we went outdoors.”

Although Bishop is known for his extroverted stand-up act, Jules said he was “quite quiet” in person.

“He seemed to be quite shy,” she said.

“But he was so friendly. I wished him good luck for his show and he said thank you – he was really nice.”

She added: “I think he’s hilarious and it was really nice to meet him.”

He later tweeted a picture of the sun setting over Bournemouth beach following his trip to Castlepoint with the caption "Halloween in Bournemouth #incredibleweather"


Bishop worked as a medical representative for pharmaceutical company Syntex before leaving in 2006 to pursue a career as a full-time comedian.

He is also well-known for his charity work, raising £3.4m for Sport Relief in 2012 by cycling from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, rowing across the English Channel and running the 90 miles from Dover to London in just three days.