Guys. What an absolutely surreal time I’ve had.
Anyone who knows even the slightest thing about me will know that I absolutely adore Alice Oseman’s work. Their stories make me feel seen in ways that no other published pieces have been able to. So, obviously, I’ve been hooked on Heartstopper over the years, as both a comic fan and a lover of the TV adaptation.
I’ve been eagerly waiting for Heartstopper Forever so we could say goodbye to the franchise, and both my sister and I entered a competition to attend the premiere. And in an absolutely unprecedented turn of events because we quite literally never win anything in our LIVES, my sister opened her emails to find out she’d won.
But before coming to terms with that: we had tickets to a Heartstopper signing with Alice Oseman in our local Waterstones. I’ve met Alice before, but that previous event was super rushed and I was extremely anxious. This time, the store had sold an exact number of tickets so that everyone had their chance, and we were given more specific instructions beforehand on how the evening would play out, so I was able to relax this time around! Alice was super lovely took the time to chat about what it means to them to have reached the end of Heartstopper. I also told them about the fact that I’d be attending the premiere the following week and they were excited for me! (Reader: I ended up sitting pretty near to Alice during the screening and saw them on the stairs on the way out)
With the first major Heartstopper event out of the way, I could focus on getting to London. With how last minute everything was, I had a mini-breakdown whilst trying to find train tickets and a hotel that my sister and I could afford, but we’re experts at looking for good deal so we managed to make it work!
My anxiety messes with my sleep Big Time before events so I only got a couple of hours before travelling to London, but I was too excited to let the panic ruin the day. As we joined the queue for the competition winners to collect their tickets, we passed by the red-carpet area for winners who managed to secure tickets to that. Our tickets were for the screening and Q&A afterwards. At least, that was supposed to be the plan…
After waiting in the queue for a while, a staff member came over to grab some people at the front of the queue. Which included us. He then quietly told us that there was room on the red carpet, next to the press area, if we wanted to join in. Guys. I almost died on the fucking spot. We were given wristbands and escorted over to the red carpet area by some staff, all whilst I was pinching myself because HOW IS THIS MY LIFE???
We didn’t have to wait long until the cast started arriving, with the first being Yasmin Finney. She has always been someone who I admire greatly, so I was completely overwhelmed when she came over to chat to us, despite us not being in the designated Fan Zone. My sister and I were able to get a picture with her and I still can’t believe it! She was so lovely.
After that, the guests were showing up super quickly and we had a perfect view for the press shots. There was lots of waving and saying hi to everyone, and we managed to hold off on crying until the cast and crew came for a final group picture together, and it finally hit us that we were HERE and saying goodbye to one of our favourite stories.
So then it was time for the screening itself! The theatre was huge but it was incredible to be surrounded by people who made the show possible and fellow fans. It was such a beautiful way to end the series, and you can bet I was ugly crying throughout so many scenes. A surreal experience when you’re sitting a row away from some of the cast.
I still can’t believe I got to experience any of this, and I’m extremely grateful that my sister was able to win tickets! My autism always makes it more difficult for me to attend events, so it was a joy to get through this trip with only some mild set-backs. It’s something that I will cherish forever.
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