Dunedin lad Ben Wombwell might have left songstress Taylor Swift speechless but he won't feature in any of her lyrics - not anytime soon, anyway.
Swift is renowned for taking a dig at former beaus and it seemed she might have landed her latest victim when Mr Wombwell, who moved to the UK in February, sat in the famous ''big red chair'' during an episode of The Graham Norton Show, which aired in the UK last week.
''Where is he? Where can we find him?'' Swift asked, before clasping her mouth in embarrassment.
''It's OK, it's fine. I have got it in check,'' she said, after being told off by Norton.
However, Swift's admiration did not extend beyond the filming of the show, the 26-year-old former Silverstream School teacher told the Otago Daily Times from London yesterday.
When asked if anything had developed between Swift and himself, he said: ''It seems to be the question that a lot of people keep asking - but nothing quite yet''.
While he was not holding out hope for romance between the pair, it was not off the table either as far as he was concerned.
''We will see if fate brings us together,'' he said, with a laugh.
The appearance on the show and the taste of international fame which followed had been an ''amazing experience'', he said.
''It's been a very surreal experience.
''It's been quite bizarre, actually. It [the show] played on Friday night here and it's amazing how many people in the UK watch it.
''I have even been recognised out and about in London. It's a little bit of a different way to start the week, that's for sure.''
The opportunity to sit in the big red chair came about when a friend got tickets for the show, Mr Wombwell said.
To secure priority seating, Mr Wombwell had offered to tell his story about being inap-propriately - and inadvertent-ly - groped while on a school trip to the museum.
''You don't know if you are going to do it [tell the story] until just before you do it,'' he said.
Three others who told stories were flipped out of the chair.
Mr Wombwell's story, which Norton labelled as ''quite cute'', allowed him to walk from the chair unharmed.
''I was stoked to be able to walk away from the chair and not get flipped,'' he said.
Since then, the product of Bayfield High School and the University of Otago had been contacted by friends, family and media keen to hear his latest tale.
The episode will screen in New Zealand in coming weeks.
