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Search forDerby supermarket prepares itself for two celebrity visits
Thursday, September 18, 2008, 08:25
The visits to Asda, in Spondon, follow on from the appearance of pop legend Sir Cliff Richard earlier this month, which saw hundreds of people queue up to meet him.
And staff at the store are expecting a similar turnout again.
Mr Kemp, 44, who features in the television series Ross Kemp on Gangs, will arrive by helicopter to promote his book, Gangs II, next Thursday, September 25, at 1pm.
The following day will see McFly, comprising Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd, sign copies of their new album, Radio:ACTIVE, from 4pm.
Asda home and leisure manager Martin Tuckwood said the McFly visit had been carefully timed.
He said: "We have chosen 4pm so that children don't skip school and, you never know, McFly may even sing.
"Cliff Richard's visit to the store was very successful and we had a lot of positive feedback from our customers.
"A wide audience watch Ross Kemp's television series and McFly are liked by people aged eight to 85, so it should be a good turnout.
"Our customers have already expressed their excitement about the visit and my colleagues are equally looking forward to it.
"It's an exciting time for the store, for Derby and it's very good for the community as a whole."
Mr Tuckwood said the store would use similar methods of crowd control employed for Sir Cliff's visit on both days.
"We think that, because Ross Kemp is launching his book on the same day, he'll only be able to sign about 500 books," he added.
"We will give people a ticket when they arrive to make queuing as fair as possible and colleagues will be on hand to take pictures to make the process quicker.
"A time hasn't yet been set for when people can start to queue but both days will operate on a first-come, first-served basis."
Christopher Lowe, 25, of Radbourne Street, Derby, is a big fan of Ross Kemp and met him when he visited the WH Smith store in Derby last November.
He said: "Ross Kemp's programme is really interesting because it gives you a great insight into cultures around the world.
"When I met him last time, I had a minute-long conversation about a programme he did in Afghanistan.
"He was a really friendly bloke and it was good to be able to talk to him.
"I'm definitely going to Asda because its always great to get something signed by a celebrity."
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