The North East has continued to attract some familiar faces in 2026, with TV stars, musicians, footballers and comedians all spotted across the region.
Last year saw the likes of Harrison Ford, Sir Ian McKellen, Gordon Ramsay and Kelsey Grammer visiting restaurants and businesses from Newcastle to Middlesbrough.
But a new crop of famous faces has already been turning heads this year.
From a pop star surprising staff at a Newcastle Italian restaurant to two of Britain's best-loved comedians filming beside one of County Durham's most spectacular landmarks, these are some of the places celebrities have been spotted across the North East in 2026.
Uno's Trattoria, Newcastle
Newcastle restaurant staff were left surprised when singer and TV personality Peter Andre dropped in for a meal earlier this year.
The Mysterious Girl singer visited Uno's Trattoria, an Italian restaurant in the city, where he was pictured with members of staff.
Andre's appearance added another well-known name to Newcastle's growing list of celebrity diners, with the city already home to several restaurants regularly frequented by stars.
Dabbawal, Newcastle
Another Newcastle restaurant welcomed an England international in 2026.
Then Nottingham Forest midfielder and former Newcastle United player Elliot Anderson was spotted dining at Indian street food restaurant Dabbawal.
The visit prompted plenty of reaction from Newcastle supporters, with some calling for the Whitley Bay-born midfielder to return to his former club.
Anderson came through Newcastle United's academy before leaving for Nottingham Forest in 2024 and has since established himself as an England international.
He has since joined Manchester City this season in a high-money move.
Performance 28, Chester-le-Street
Performance 28 featured in our previous celebrity hotspot list thanks to its popularity with professional footballers – and another Newcastle United player has since paid a visit.
Midfielder Lewis Miley was spotted at the County Durham performance car specialist after taking his Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 back to the business for bespoke styling upgrades.
The Chester-le-Street company has previously welcomed the likes of Newcastle defender Dan Burn and former Magpies goalkeeper Tim Krul.
Miley's visit came shortly before another impressive Newcastle performance, continuing the garage's links with some of the region's biggest sporting names.
High Force, County Durham
One of County Durham's most famous natural landmarks became a celebrity filming location in June.
Comedians Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse were spotted at High Force on June 4 while filming for their BBC series Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.
Bob and Paul at High Force, County Durham (Image: SUBMIT)
The pair were photographed by Barnard Castle photographer Nick Coggins, who had travelled to the waterfall following heavy rain and unexpectedly came across the production.
Mortimer, who was born in Middlesbrough, and Whitehouse had reportedly been fishing further upstream before crews moved to High Force.
Mr Coggins said the pair were "very pleasant" and happily posed for a photograph during a break in filming.
Beamish Museum, County Durham
Beamish has long been one of County Durham's biggest visitor attractions – and in 2026 it received a glowing endorsement from TV presenter Steph McGovern.
The Middlesbrough-born presenter shared pictures from visits to Beamish and described it as "the best museum on the planet".
McGovern said she had been visiting the open-air museum for around 40 years and had returned twice within the space of two weeks with her family.
Steph McGovern at Beamish Museum (Image: INSTAGRAM)
She praised the museum for being interactive, informative and fun and encouraged people who had never visited to make the trip.
It added McGovern to the long list of famous faces with connections to Beamish, which has also been used as a filming location for major television productions over the years.
Saltburn
It wasn't just restaurants and visitor attractions attracting famous faces in 2026.
Saltburn became a temporary film and television hotspot in September when crews descended on the seaside town for a major Netflix production based on the adult short stories of Roald Dahl.
The Northern Echo reported movie stars being spotted in the town as production got underway.
The six-part Netflix project has a cast including Nicola Coughlan, Naomi Scott, Toby Jones, Imelda Staunton and Dominic West, alongside Josh Finan, Carmen Ejogo and others.
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Production has been taking place across the North of England, with Saltburn among the locations selected for filming.
For residents used to seeing tourists descend on the seaside town, the sight of film crews and well-known actors added another chapter to Saltburn's growing screen credentials.
A growing celebrity destination
The latest sightings build on a growing list of celebrities choosing to eat, shop, film and spend time across the North East.
In recent years, Harrison Ford has eaten on Newcastle Quayside, Kelsey Grammer has visited a Middlesbrough supercar dealership and stars including Sir Ian McKellen, Gordon Ramsay and Tony Hadley have all been welcomed by businesses in the region.
And with new film and television productions increasingly choosing the North East as a backdrop, alongside Newcastle's thriving restaurant scene and the region's links to Premier League football, there could be plenty more famous faces to spot before 2026 is over.