Roman Kemp, Paddy McGuinness and John Bishop were among the stars watching the solar eclipse across the UK, with the skies darkening as the moon covered roughly 90% of the sun for the first time since 1999. Some residents in the Isles of Scilly saw around 96% coverage.
Stars improvise eclipse viewers
Members of the public were warned not to look directly into the sky without proper protection, including sold-out eclipse glasses, leaving many to get crafty. Paddy McGuinness took to Instagram to show how he had been improvising, posting snaps of a Kellogg's cereal box cut apart and covered in foil to create a pinhole projector.
“Don’t worry kids, we don’t need those fancy glasses. Leave it to Dad! What you crying for? #solareclipse #2026,” he captioned the post.
John Bishop's colander blunder
John Bishop tried the colander method, in which you hold the kitchen strainer to the sun but look away from it. The idea proved popular, with John Lewis reportedly seeing a spike in colander sales leading up to the eclipse.
David Jones, consultant ophthalmologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, told the BBC: “If you hold the colander to the Sun and you look away from the Sun, protecting your eyes, you can make not just one picture of the Sun but a hundred all at once.”
Unfortunately for John, he attempted to follow suit and shared a selfie of the strainer on his head on Instagram, fuming that it wasn't working. Johnny Vaughan also posed with the colander on his head, flashing a thumbs up, captioned: “It's got that "end of the world" vibe. But with a wry smile.”
Roman Kemp and other stars react
Roman Kemp was live on BBC and presenting the One Show when the eclipse hit, proudly showing off his glasses while mocking co-host Alex Jones for shielding her eyes with her hands. He teased: “Guess which one of us got the last pair of glasses?”
Romeo Beckham shared his excitement on Instagram, smiling for a dark selfie while donning an Intra beanie, writing: “Eclipse, and then Arsenal playing... doesn't get better.” Amy Dowden took a break from Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals to watch from the BBC rooftop, teasing that she'd had a “fab day”.
The UK will see a partial solar eclipse on August 2, 2027, but it will be a longer wait to see the moon cover more than 90% of the sun again, with the next event in 2081.
