This was one of my favourite events of the year, I had already been looking forward to it and had many photoshoots booked and was deep in planning my weekend timetable then I got the call … I would be hosting panels over the weekend.

 

Excitement , panic and high levels of stress took over. I’m used to having a few weeks notice to host 3 panels over a weekend … I had a week and 8 panels to plan for.  I do love a challenge so my prep began.

 

So because of this my review will be a bit different and askew to usual.

 

So let’s begin. My first shoot was 9:30… my first panel was 10am …. The panic was real. Luckily it was John Cena who is a pro. He was nice, but i was so focused on my panel it feels like I blinked and met him. But yay I met John Cena.

 

Panel 1: Bluey cast - David McCormack and Melanie Zanetti

Until this week, I had never really seen Bluey and as it was the first panel of the day I wasn’t sure how it would go. Would it be busy? Would they be fun … or jet lagged. Thankfully they were both lovely and fun and the panel was full. So many kids in costumes. They loved it. One personal highlight was when we were in the lift and a life size Chewbacca joined us … it’s a very surreal moment.  Plus the route we went past Brie Larsons private toilet … which sparked an amusing discussion of toilet hierarchy.

 

Panel 2: Iain Glen- this was the other one I was most nervous for … Iain is a big name , he has played many stern characters, so how would he be? Spoiler … he was amazing. A really down to earth guy. Appreciative and commented on how much he was enjoying the event. He hadn’t done one in many years and was enjoying this one more.  Having chatted with him it’s crazy to me now that I was nervous about working with him.

 

Panel 3: Heather Graham … yes the Heather Graham … this is the panel I manifested … I had been listening to other podcasts and she had been guests on a few recently. She came across so well and I kept thinking how cool would it be to work with her one day .. and today was the day.  It was the one I felt most confident with and yet it was one of the hardest that weekend. A

Heather is so lovely , at her table , when we were walking and talking. She is funny and wasn’t taking herself seriously. Then the panel happened- it was good and many questions and fun answers but it didn’t flow. I would ask a question and she would answer and then closed the conversation, it didn’t flow as other panels had. But then at the end she wanted to have more fun and had us record a video with the audience. Which she kept talking about al weekend excited to see it.

 

Panel 4: Julie Benz, as a Buffy fan this was a cool one to work with. She is a pro, having been attending events as long as I have. She was open and fun. Was a great panel and my busiest one of the day, never doubt the power of the Buffy fandom. Highlight was our journey to the panel where we shared a lift with a a couple of Fetts and i got to see them having a catch up.

 

That ended my morning of panels … with the adrenaline still pumping I had 14 shoots and some autographs to get done.

 

Mona Marshall - a ball of energy bouncing around the photo studio

 

Sarah Drew- warm and biggest welcoming smile

 

Freddie Stoma - nice guy , enjoying his interactions with fans. Very personable.

 

Emilia Clarke - I was surprised how happy she seemed, having heard reports of her at other events being a bit distant. She looked like she was having a good time

 

Iain Glen- big smile when he saw me come in for the shoot and kept thanking me for the panel and how much he enjoyed it.

 

Elisabeth Shue - brief meet but she gave a nice impression

 

Heather Graham - again so sweet and yes I’m smitten so nothing bad to say here.

 

Eliza Taylor - another one full of energy and having fun with fans

 

Bob Morley- one I had been wanting to meet for a while as one off the cast of the 100 that kept cancelling events.  He was warm and welcoming. He is also funny in a self depreciating way.

 

Miriam Margolyes - I was shocked at how busy she was, her lines were never ending. The photo was a fun interaction, she even grabbed her boobs for the photo so I had to grab mine for the retake. Gotta love someone with no filter.

 

April Stewart- she was quieter than Mona but a nice brief meet

 

Eric Johnson - he may have played a forgettable character in Smallville but he was friendly and a lot taller than I expected

 

That ended day one of the event. Nottingham sure how I still had any energy left by the end of the day.

 

Sunday - a quieter day … well in theory. But that busy Saturday had sapped a lot of my energy and you don’t realise how much energy it takes working on stage. Having to keep that energy levels up for 4 hours is taxing. I love it but still wow it can hit you when you finally get to sit down and relax…. But that was still hours away at this time.

 

I arrived earlier and took lots of photos with the props and did my usual silly shenanigans. I do love messing with props. But going to so many Monopoly events there aren’t many new props for me. But it’s always good to see them.

 

Panel 1: Robert Wuhl - this was the panel of the weekend I at first was nervous about. I hadn’t seen as much of his work so I did a deep dive … if you have the chance, watch his show Arli$$. A very funny HBO show that was a head of its time. The panel itself was quiet - it was the first on a Sunday morning so it was to be expected. But those who attended were very passionate.  Robert has a dry humour but a great wealth of movie knowledge. Had a good chat about his work and some amazing Jack Nicholson an anecdotes. Was a great discussion about the state of movies , TV and the decline of cinema.

 

Panel 2: Sarah Drew- This was my favourite panel of the weekend, Sarah has such an warm and wonderful personality.  She lit up the stage and made all those who asked questions feel seen. The panel went effortlessly and flowed really well. 

 

Panel 3: The 100 with Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley, This was a fun panel, as a married couple they have great chemistry and a lot of in jokes between themselves, The only area they told me that was off limits was their sex lives... only because couldn't charge a premium for that content, and that stuff needs to be earned .  They really were a lot of fun 

 

Panel 4 : Andor- Genevieve O'Reilly, Alistair Petrie and Kyle Soller. This being Genevieve's first ever panel i was under no pressure to do well... honest.... plus you never want to offend Star Wars fans...its not as if they are as sophisticated at Star Trek fans after all. The panel was a lot of laughs and not how I expected it to be. Alistair is hilarious.

 

so that was the last of my panels, from the feedback I received, all went well and I did well. This is lovely to hear as this is something i really enjoy and am passionate about.

now back to the event and the last guest meets

 

Luis Guzman- had a nice chat about Community and how he enjoyed his brief role 

 

Joonas Suotamo- wo wis he tall... like huge. very friendly.

 

Brie Larson- A brief meet, but considering all the negatives online about her and how she can be cold with fans. I never saw that side of her and was a nice interaction.

 

John Boyega- was another brief meet but he was friendly and interactive

 

This was my final event of 2025 and boy did it deliver. Amazing guests, fun times on stage and many memories that cant even express the gratitude for the chance to be a part of the event

 

Rating 9/10