Please get a photo of yourself with Hugo so that we can do a then-versus-now comparison!
Well, I went!
It was a near-three-hour drive south for me, but the weather couldn't have been kinder for October's early autumn.
Once there, at the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre, I immediately sought out Hugo, only to find he'd gone walkies around the event. I got chatting to Jackie, who was there with Hugo, and informed her that I'd made the trip especially to see Hugo. I let her in on the secret that I'd met Hugo exactly 30 years prior as a contestant on
Knightmare. She said he'd be thrilled to learn that.
Hugo returned a few moments later and like the true gent he is, he extended his hand and said it was great to meet me.
'Again,' I added. A curious eyebrow raise later from Hugo, and I unzipped my hoodie to reveal my
Knightmare 1994 contestant tee shirt (no idea how it still fits me; I'm a lot bigger than I was as a freshly-minted 13-year-old).
Anyway, I spent the best part of an hour chatting away with Hugo, reminiscing and such. I had a wander around the rest of the exhibition (walking away, eventually, with an Anduril replica, no less, and a few other bits and pieces) and then returned to speak with Hugo again. It struck me that despite filming on the show across 1 and a bit days, I probably spoke more with Hugo today than I did as a Dungeoneer, which is wild.
It was wonderful to meet Hugo again. He was super accommodating with his time and anecdotes and in a surreal kind of way, it felt like chatting with an old friend, despite only having met once before – so long ago that it nearly feels like it happened to a different person. Hugo is witty, benevolently mischievous, and just a downright brilliant man.
I like to think I kept things cool enough as we whiled away part of the afternoon discussing what is almost a mutual friend of the past, but I still don't think Hugo has any idea how much of a pivotal part he played in not only my favourite TV show, but also the highlight of my childhood. To him, no doubt he was just doing his job as a professional actor in a very unusual type of show; but to me – as indeed to millions of other people my age – he was the face of
Knightmare and therefore, a pretty big deal of my school age years.
Hugo signed a lovely portrait of himself as Treguard, and I was also fortunate enough to get some photographs...in our (nearly) matching
Knightmare apparel.
@Drassil – I'll DM you to discuss how to get the photos over to you. The trickiest part of the photos is trying to decide which of us has aged more – I think it's me. Hugo looks wonderfully well.
What a surreal day. They always say, 'Don't meet your heroes.' That's cool. I'd already met mine.
