Rob Brydon opens up on ‘mortifying’ meeting with Paul McCartney – ‘I wanted to die’

Rob Brydon caught up with Paul McCartney backstage at a Hammersmith Apollo show – but ended up being told by the singer’s own daughter just how much she’d annoyed him.

Shuddering as he recalled the humiliating faux pas, the Welsh comedian revealed that his only wish had been to “be remembered” by The Beatles legend. Searching in vain for a unique question to ask that he would never have heard before, he asked: “Would you do a show for me if I chose the songs?”

He continued: “What a d**k I was. He looked at me and said, ‘What do I open up with?’

“I chose an obscure recent album track, thinking it would impress him. I think it gave me the appearance of a stalker!” Rob continued.

“As I was watching him, I could just sense he wasn’t happy. I could feel the atmosphere.” He was standing next to celeb pals Frank Skinner and Steve Coogan, who seemed equally aware of the suddenly frosty mood.

“I could feel Steve next to me – I could feel his sphincter tightening!” Rob quipped as peals of laughter rang out on the set of the Richard Herring podcast he was appearing on. Stumbling for words, he reassured Paul that he should feel free to tell him if the conversation became boring.

“Oh, don’t worry – if I get bored, I’ll let you know!” Paul shot back as Rob continued to cringe.

Soon afterwards, he made his excuses and disappeared into the crowd gathered around him to “mingle”.

“I thought, ‘I’m p*****g off Paul McCartney!’ I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I wanted to die,” Rob exclaimed.

His daughter Mary soon explained the mystery reason he had turned frosty, telling him: “The one thing dad hates is being told which songs to sing!”

He didn’t get much sympathy from Steve either when he explained he’d just wanted Paul to remember him, as Steve accused: “Well, you’ve done that!”

The partying continued, but as Paul was saying his goodbyes at the end of the night, the already “properly depressed” comedian got snubbed again.

As he bid farewell to the others, Rob realised: “Jesus Christ, he’s blanking me!”

Fortunately, the two bonded right at the end of the night when they joined in together to sing a Harry Seacombe song.

That seemed to break the ice as Paul gave him a hug.

Meanwhile, Rob recalled another extraordinary musical moment he’d had while picking songs, but this time while on a boat in Sydney

The skipper – a 26-year-old – had been totally confused over the identity of Rod Stewart.

The flabbergasted actor – who has three BAFTAs and has appeared in everything from Gavin and Stacey to The Trip, which Paul had watched – asked incredulously: “Did you ever think you’d live in a world where somebody is entirely ignorant of Rod Stewart?”