Famous London Taxi Passengers: Part 1 ‘A – L’
I’ve been driving a taxi around London for over twenty years. I completed the world-renowned ‘Knowledge of London’ in 2000, entitling me to become an ‘All London Green Badge’ licensed taxi driver. The first ten years were a mix of taxi work combined with building up a parallel career as a tour guide. Since then I’ve been a full time tour guide and have done very little taxi work. During those first ten years I often had someone famous or well known (to me at least) sitting in the back of the cab. 
They came from the arts, music, politics, sport, academia and the media – and occasionally ‘other’. I never let on that I recognized them and I never initiated conversation or intruded. If they were alone some of them did fancy a chat and some didn’t.
My list of over 100 famous passengers has been sitting in my documents file for over 10 years. Before I lose it I figured I should put it on record, as a kind of unique and personal documentation of who gets London taxis. I should really say ‘who got London taxis’ because most of the names below street-hailed me (a few booked in advance). I’m not sure if nowadays, in this age of social media and intrusion, a lot of the names below would just wander around London going about their daily lives with such openness.
Famous Taxi Passengers: Part 1 ‘A – L’.
Damon Albarn: Pop star – Blur, Gorillaz.
Lily Allen: Pop star.
Lord Michael Ancram: Conservative minister 1990s.
Clive Anderson: TV and radio presenter – Whose Line is it Anyway?
Adam Ant: Pop star – Adam and the Ants.
Richard Bacon: TV and radio presenter.
Lord Kenneth Baker: Conservative MP, minister 1980s.
Peter Baldwin: Actor – Coronation Street.
Bananarama (Keren & Sara): Pop stars – Bananarama.
Sir Peter Bazalgette: TV executive – Big Brother.
Angellica Bell: TV presenter.
Lord John Birt: BBC Director General 1990s.
Baroness Virginia Bottomley: Conservative MP, minister 1990s.
Edith Bowman: TV and radio presenter.
Jonathan Cainer: Newspaper astrologer.
Antoine de Caunes: TV presenter – Eurotrash.
Nick Cave: Pop star – The Bad Seeds.
Nicky Chinn: Songwriter – Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Mud.
Winston Spencer Churchill: Conservative MP, grandson of Winston Churchill.
Jarvis Cocker: Pop star – Pulp.
Michelle Collins: Actor – EastEnders.
Brian Connolly: Actor, singer.
James Cordon: Actor, writer, TV presenter – Gavin & Stacey.
David Davies: Journalist, sports executive.
Matt Dawson: Cricketer, TV panellist.
Baroness Brenda Dean: Trade union leader – SOGAT.
Nancy Dell’olio: TV reality star.
Frank Dobson: Labour MP, minister 1990s.
Gwyneth Dunwoody: Labour MP.
Chris Eubank: Boxer – WBO middleweight title.
Sir Terry Farrell: Architect – MI6.
Lord Julian Fellowes: Actor, writer – Downton Abbey.
Pam Ferris: Actor – Matilda, Telstar.
Irving Finkel: Philologist, writer, British Museum curator.
Roddy Frame: Pop star – Aztec Camera.
Matt Frei: TV journalist and presenter.
Stephen Fry: Writer, actor, radio presenter.
Nicky Gavron: Labour politician.
Charlie George: Football legend – Arsenal.
Beth Gibbon: Pop star – Portishead.
Mel Giedroyc: Comedian, TV presenter – Great British Bake Off.
AA Gill: Journalist.
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez: Lawyer, wife of Sir Nick Clegg.
Lloyd Grossman: Writer, TV presenter, food brand.
Haydn Gwynne: Actor – Drop the Dead Donkey.
Rich Hall: Comedian, writer.
Paul Heaton: Pop star – Housemartins, The Beautiful South.
Amanda Holden: Actor, TV panellist, radio presenter.
Kelly Holmes DBE: Runner – Double Olympic Gold 2004.
Sir Simon Hughes: Liberal Democrat MP.
Sir Harry Hyams: Property developer, businessman.
Lisa I’Anson: TV and radio presenter.
Oscar James: Actor – EastEnders.
Lorraine Kelly: TV presenter.
Charles Kennedy: Liberal Democrat MP, Party leader.
The Duchess of Kent: Royal family, charity patron.
Jemima Khan: Journalist.
Lord Norman Lamont: Conservative MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1990 – 1993.
Nigella Lawson: TV presenter, writer.
Sir Christopher Lee: Actor – The Wicker Man, Man with the Golden Gun, Lord of the Rings.
Maureen Lipman DBE: Actor – The Evacuees, Coronation Street.
Ken Livingstone: Labour politician.
Chris Lowe: Pop star – Pet Shop Boys.
Daisy Lowe: Model.
Nicholas Lyndhurst: Actor – Only Fools and Horses, Goodnight Sweetheart.