People you've changed your opinion of...

[irocfan]

I was just watching (and enjoying) Michael Portillo on one of his railway programmes and it struck me that 25 years ago I pretty much despised the man. Funny how things change!

Who else is there who has changed from a figure of hate and is now viewed as interesting (or even a 'good bloke')... or indeed are there any out there who back in the day you thought of as being good people who are now viewed with disdain (I don't mean people like savile or rolf harris)

[anonymous-user]

Good to Bad

Geldof achievements in Live Aid at the time seemed incredible now he is just another one doing well out of all things charity
Bono - same as Geldof
Ken Livingstone Used to think he was straight talking and an example of a decent mayor
Ian Gillan Still love his singing though its old and a shadow of his past glories, Grew fed up pf his treatment of Ritchie Blackmore over the years he just cannot leave things alone
Lilly Allen (I used to like her, her comments about the England Football Team were spot on) she seemed a bit normal and cheeky now she is
self obsessed and ignorant

[StevieBee]

Almost all politicians become more palatable when they are no longer politicians. Ed Balls I think is an exceptionally personable character now which was not the case when he was an MP. I've even found my self thinking John Prescott would be a good 'pint-buddy' for an evening.

Others - Russel Brand. Saw him live and thought he said some good and interesting things in a funny way having been previously in the standard PH camp towards him.

[thebraketester]

Prince Harry. Thought he seems like the kind of guy it would be nice to have a pint with...... not so much now.

[funkyrobot]

Good to bad, then sort of good again - Lance Armstrong.

I'm always intrigued to hear what he has to say. He was idolised, then ousted. He did damage the sport. But crikey, the story is very interesting.

[thainy77]

Tyson Fury, nob to quite likeable.

[jontymo]

As per StevieBee above, Ed Balls - couldn't stand him when he was in parliament, now find him very entertaining and seems a decent chap as does John Prescott. On the opposite side to this i thought Tony Blair was ok when in power, i now can't stand the guy and find him cantankerous!

[MrGTI6]

Stephen Mulhern. Used to find him immensely irritating. He recently did a series called In For A Penny. Very cheesy Saturday night TV but thought he was very quick-witted and good at engaging with the public without resorting to being crude.

[Wacky Racer]

Eddie Izzard Never liked him.

Until I realised he could speak eight languages fluently and run 43 marathons in 51 days for charity, and is a great actor.

Amazing bloke.

[Scabutz]

Hate to say it but Piers Morgan. Use to think he was an utter bell end but he is one of the few people that will say things others are afraid to without being massively offensive.

Used to think Alistar Campbell was a tt but quite like him now.

[WJNB]

thebraketester said:

Prince Harry. Thought he seems like the kind of guy it would be nice to have a pint with...... not so much now.

Likewise but in all fairness he seems to be suffering mental problems or 'issues', which of course is all the fashion & which I fear will worsen.

[JulianHJ]

David Cameron and Theresa May. After the debacle of Blair and Brown I had high hopes, which were utterly destroyed by that pair of . It's astounding to think they could do more damage to this country that the clowns who preceded them, but they managed to double down on incompetence. I look forward to hearing of their demise.

[toasty]

Andy Murray - I used to think he was just a miserable sod but it seems that’s just his way of avoiding unwanted media attention

[omniflow]

Jules Holland - way way back when he was a presenter on The Tube I thought he was a grade A tt.

Then I went to a comedy night in Greenwich where he was the compere, and he played the piano between acts - I changed my mind pretty much instantly.

Now, I think he is a massive force for good in the world of music

[mcelliott]

Yep Robbie Williams, little tt to massive .

[motco]

Aung San Suu Kyi. I regarded her as a brave principled politician. Now? I really don't know what she's playing at.

[Piersman2]

toasty said:

Andy Murray - I used to think he was just a miserable sod but it seems that’s just his way of avoiding unwanted media attention

Many people have the wrong end of the stick with Andy Murray, based on the media not 'getting' him earlier in his career.

I lived in scotland for 16 years and the sense of humour amongst many of the scots is absolutely second to none, genuinely self-effacing and bloody hilarious.

I saw Andy being interviewed many years ago when he first made it big and he's defo in the 'funny' camp, the press just didn't get it!

[sunbeam alpine]

omniflow said:

Jules Holland - way way back when he was a presenter on The Tube I thought he was a grade A tt.

Then I went to a comedy night in Greenwich where he was the compere, and he played the piano between acts - I changed my mind pretty much instantly.

Now, I think he is a massive force for good in the world of music

He's also a massive petrolhead - has (or had) some great classic cars.

[GAjon]

Max Verstappen, entitled prick to the real deal.

[Europa1]

toasty said:

Andy Murray - I used to think he was just a miserable sod but it seems that’s just his way of avoiding unwanted media attention

Agreed. Since winning a major or 2, he seems to have opened up a bit more, and you can see how much it means to him.