It was like staring into the eyes of a ghost.
My logical self told me it was Julie Walters walking towards me. But the other side of my brain could have sworn it was Mo Mowlam.
I was leaving a film set in Newtownards after shooting my part as a reporter at a mocked-up Castle Buildings last June when I came face to face with Ms Walters who was arriving for her umpteenth day to play the lead role of Mo in the Channel 4 drama, which is screened tonight.
And as I made a mess of holding the door open for her — it was a revolving door — my mind sprang back 13 years to my first meeting with the real Mo as she exited the BBC in Belfast.
For the full story, see this week's Sunday Life.