I live in the land of the Geordies,where everyone is rightly proud of their heritage. Not just because of the railways, the shipyards, coal mines and stotties either. There are some very famous Geordies, and by famous I mean Household names. Try Ant and Dec; Bobby Robson; Alan Shearer; Rowan Atkinson; Andy Corrigan.

I confess to being slightly envious about that, even though it’s only an accident of birth that decrees where a person is born. But for the people of the North East, it’s a happy accident, like putting the wrong number down on a lottery ticket one week and finding that you actually won £25. In some towns, the accident isn’t quite so fortuitous.

Take Eastbourne, for example. Looking at the list of so-called celebrities who were born in the Sussex seaside resort, you might be forgiven for thinking that this accident of birth was a little more unfortunate. But it’s not all bad.

The pier. A bit of which has since burned down.

There’s Joe Marler, England rugby player who recently grabbed his opponents’s genitals and now faces a 12-week ban.

There’s Michael Fish, who in 1987 said there was no hurricane coming just before the hurricane came.

Theresa May, the Prime Minister who suffered the heaviest Government defeat since Julius Caesar was assassinated.

And Toploader, who once had a hit with “Dancing in The Moonlight” before disappearing completely.

The Carpet Gardens, on the seafront. The hotel just to the right has since burned down. Like the pier.

Famous residents include Russ Conway, an Australian piano player, Tommy Cooper, comedy legend from decades ago, and Eddie Izzard – who actually played football for Eastbourne Town once. I’m reliably informed that he wore the yellow and blue regulation kit in those days, not a twin set and pearls.

See? Eastbourne is littered with celebrities.

And what do you mean, you’ve never heard of Andy Corrigan?