Jack Whitehall at Ossie’s in Camden Town

THE BRIT awards came to Camden Town before the ceremony had even begun this weekend, with the opening two minutes of the ceremony being filmed inside a traditional barbershop and an independent coffee shop on the same street.

The opening skit of the awards show which was held in Manchester on Saturday was filmed in Parkway with comedian and host Jack Whitehall filming scenes in Ossie’s Barbershop and coffee shop the Coffee Jar.

Erol Mehmet, who now runs Ossie’s after taking over from his father Ossie Mehmet who retired last year said: “We didn’t watch the ceremony live so when we looked back at it little did we know we were the first thing on the screen at the BRITS.

“They rang me totally out of the blue saying they had Googled the shop and loved the fact it was an old school traditional barbershop.

“It was hectic in here, there were around 25 people crammed in and it’s a narrow space, there are a lot of mirrors so the crew were having to duck down to get out of the shots.”

The sketch featured Mr Whitehall being haunted by news that Harry Styles had stopped performing to take a break from writing music.

The crisis begins with him getting a haircut in one of the chairs at Ossie’s.

“It was a fake haircut,” said Mr Mehmet, adding: “I had a pair of scissors and a comb in my hand so I did at least get to touch his hair.

“It helped that we were both Arsenal fans. He was a bit shy at first but in-between takes I asked him if he was going to the game on the weekend and his eyes lit up.”

Erol Mehmet from Ossie’s with Jack Whitehall

The crew also changed the sign outside of the shop to ‘Hairy Styles Barbers’ on one side and ‘Harry Styles Barbers’ on the other.

Mr Mehmet said: “They said they would change it back to Ossie’s after but it’s a nice memory so we’ll keep it for a while.

“The Instagram page even got a few followers after the scenes this weekend.”

Later in the sketch, Mr Whitehall also pops into The Coffee Jar further up Parkway. Maria Moisis, who has run the independent for 13 years said: “I saw it on TV, it’s nice to be recognised. “They filmed for a good hour and pretended to make coffee but said they had seen the space and liked it.”

Jack Whitehall filming in Parkway and below, Maria Moisis at The Coffee Jar

Ms Moisis, who was born in Archway and went to Parliament Hill School added: “On this street we were the first independent coffee shop. We still do the same organic coffee.

“Coffee shops have come and gone here, or changed hands. You have to open a coffee shop knowing the business model. But things have changed since Covid, we’re adapting to a new way and people’s new working patterns.”

It’s not the Coffee Jar’s first brush with fame. Regulars such as Daniel Craig, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Alex Scott all pop in for a brew.

Ezra Collective, the jazz band, have also been inter­viewed in the shop before. Ms Moisis said: “I quit my job and decided to do this. The local community took really nicely to us as a coffee shop and we built a really nice group of regulars.”