In which of the following scenarios do you think you could reasonably expect to bump into Noel Edmonds?

a) Training to be a journalist for a year in London;
b) Working for seven months at the BBC near London;
c) Having lunch in a quiet Wiltshire pub on 27 December.

Yep, who should walk into The Dandy Lion in Bradford-on-Avon during lunch with my friend Becky, but the man himself. The Deal Or No Deal king, looking far better in real life than he does on TV.

No photos because I've promised myself I'll never stoop to that level, but he had a very good wintry look going on, hair allowed to acquire a refined grey hue, not the off-gold shimmer you see on the box.

He was accompanied by a lady who looked, in a few snatched glimpses, a) fairly young and b) quite attractive. They each had a turkey sandwich - this I know because while it had taken the pub staff half an hour to conjure up cod and chips twice for us, Noel's turkey arrived less than five minutes after he'd sat down next to us. Clearly that's who you need to be to get quick service at The Dandy Lion, whose staff visibly bickered among themselves and appeared entirely ill at ease with their jobs.

I was initially at a loss as to why Noel Edmonds would crop up in a pub in Bradford-on-Avon in the week between Christmas and New Year, but I've since learned that Deal Or No Deal is filmed in Bristol and he probably lives in the area.

Becky's mum was able to shed further light, when told we'd seen Noel in the pub:

"Oh yeah, Noel goes to the same chiropractor my friend Kate does. She said she went to have her back done, and apparently he has exactly the same stuff done by the very same hands!"

While I wasn't about to reduce myself to descending on the poor man like a crazed stalker, it was a shame I forgot the line I could have used to make a pleasant introduction. I work with Maggie Philbin at the local radio station, the lady who of course worked with Noel on Swap Shop (which has been brought back for a one-off special).

Therein lay some common ground. Alas, the best I could do while in the pub was the time Noel had landed on the playing fields of my school in a helicopter. I can't remember why. I have the nagging sensation that Mr Blobby may have been there.

Also seen, daubed across the front of a van in the car park as we left:

I know full well OJ likes nothing more than a good alpaca - so there's two! I'm told books are available from all - well, some, or perhaps very few - good bookstores.