The weirdest Edi Fresher’s celeb appearances

No Edi Fresher’s Week is complete without a D-List celebrity DJing at Big Cheese

2 years ago

Ah, yes, it’s that time of year again. You can smell the innocence around George Square, see the doe eyes gleaming at the library doors and even catch a glimpse of genuine enthusiasm and excitement for uni. Yes, the Freshers are on their way.

But they’re not the only ones about to make their Edinburgh uni debut. Oh no, far from it. There are even more exciting appearances to come.

You may remember your own Freshers experience, seeing Hodor from Game of Thrones tickle his deck or even meeting an irrelevant Love Island contestant – but what are the weirdest celebrities that have made a freshers appearance here in Edi? Check out our list from ‘the bottom of the barrel’ to ‘what on earth happened here?’.

10. Scotty from Geordie Shore, 2016

In Scotty’s defence, I’m sure the absolute chaos of Freshers is right on brand – well done to whoever his manager was at the time.

I’m sure the bounders at Big Cheese had a lovely time trying to understand his accent and doing their best not to kick him out purely from a contractual agreement.

9. Sam Thompson, 2015

Okay, before I roast Sam for being a D-lister, I will say he was probably more of a C-Lister in 2015. However, going from having boatloads of mummy and daddy’s cash at his dispense to nepotism his way to having a £200k salary at Goldman Sachs to having to do an appearance at Big Cheese must have stung. If not him, definitely mummy and daddy.

8. Josh and Sam from Love Island, 2018

Quite possibly the worst duo ever come up with, these two utterly irrelevant contestants gracefully made it to hosting a VK-sponsored club night back in 2018. I mean, it’s not quite a £3 million Pretty Little Thing deal, but you have to make do with what you get, don’t you?

7. Aston Merrygold from JLS, 2018

From heartbreaker to heartbreaking. From selling out stadiums to selling out the cringiest club in Edinburgh. It’s a slight fall of grace, Aston, but we Edi students salute your Fresher’s service.

6. Dick and Dom, 2018

You may remember this pair from your childhood TV. Well, they made a return feature in teenage life back in 2018 when they were an act at Big Cheese – since then, they have been banned for reasons I cannot disclose.

5. Union J, 2015

I can literally picture the conversation that went down in Edinburgh’s PR office:

“Ideally, we want One Direction.”

“Ah rats, sorry they’re on tour – we’ve got the slightly less attractive, less talented, completely unheard of version available if you’re up for that?”

“Yeah, go on then. From the back of Big Cheese, they will be too smashed to notice anyway.”

4. Hodor from Game of Thrones, 2017 AND 2019

Did you know that Kristian Nairn, or Hodor, is an avid DJ? He’s also a pretty good one. He actually smashed his set back in 2019 – I would know because I was there and still have the video I took of him as proof. The only thing missing was a DnB mashup of the Game of Thrones theme tune.

Ten points to whoever pitched RAVE OF THRONES.

3. Gok Wan, 2022

Fashionista by day and another avid DJ by night. If you’re in Edinburgh this Fresher’s Week, be sure to catch a glimpse of Gok on his decks.

2. Iain Sterling, 2015

The last thing I would expect to hear over the absolute cringe-fest of music that is played at Big Cheese is the voice of Love Island. Iain, we all know you’re better than this. If you’re strapped for cash, just go on BBC Radio 3 or Capital FM. Please. Don’t come to our beloved Big Cheese.

1. The Vengaboys, 2013

If We’re Going to Ibiza played LIVE at Big Cheese, I would lose it. No other experience at Edinburgh Uni would top that. Class of 2013, I hope you’re happy because you got the best of an incredibly bad bunch.