Why I Recommend Customizing the Celebrity Slides

One of the few things you’ll want to customize before playing London Shopping Mission is the celebrity slides.
I’ve created a short YouTube tutorial that walks you through the process step by step, but I also wanted to explain why I recommend making this small change.
It isn’t just about personalizing the game—it can have a surprisingly big impact on student engagement.

Why celebrities work

When students recognize someone they already know and like, they immediately become more emotionally invested in the story. Instead of talking to a random character, they’re suddenly talking to someone they’ve seen in movies, on YouTube, or in music videos. That familiarity often makes conversations feel much more natural and memorable.
Even students who are usually quiet are often more willing to participate when they have an opinion about the person they’re meeting.

The celebrities I usually use

Emma Watson

I like to place Emma Watson in the Harry Potter shop.
Most students who choose to enter the Harry Potter shop already know who Hermione is, so the setting feels natural and believable. Emma Watson is also someone many students recognize immediately, which makes it easy to start conversations.
I’ve had students ask her questions about Harry Potter, compliment her, or even try to invite her on a date! Those unexpected moments often become some of the funniest and most memorable parts of the adventure.

As the teacher, those interactions also give you opportunities to improvise and shape the story.

Instead of simply saying,

“You can go to the British Museum.”

the story suddenly becomes:

“Emma Watson invites you to visit the British Museum with her.”

It’s a small change, but it makes the adventure feel much more personal.

Ed Sheeran

For Madame Tussauds, I usually choose Ed Sheeran.
He’s widely recognized, and many students know at least one of his songs. Sometimes I even offer bonus points if someone can name a song or sing a few lines.
Before long, students are volunteering English without being asked because they’re genuinely excited to interact with the character.
Those spontaneous moments are exactly what I hope to create in my classroom.

Choose celebrities your students know

Of course, my students aren’t your students.
You know your own classes better than anyone else.

Think about:

• musicians they listen to
• actors they admire
• athletes they follow
• YouTubers or creators they enjoy
• local celebrities they recognize
  
  Choosing familiar faces helps students connect emotionally with the story, and that connection often leads to more discussion and more meaningful language use.

How to customize the slides

I’ve included a short YouTube tutorial that shows the entire process, but it’s actually very simple.

There are only four slides that need to be edited:

• 📖At King’s Cross Station – Harry Potter shop
• 💬 Conversation with Celebrity No1
• 📖 At Madame Tussauds
• 💬 Conversation with Celebrity No2

Each slide already contains an image placeholder. Simply click the placeholder, choose an image from your computer, and PowerPoint will insert it automatically.

For the location slides (Harry Potter Shop and Madame Tussauds), I usually use a regular photograph.

For the conversation slides, I recommend using a PNG image with a transparent background. This lets you place the celebrity’s face neatly onto the character in the scene and usually creates the best result.

Don’t forget to replace “Celebrity No 1” and “Celebrity No 2” with the person’s actual name. I’ve highlighted these titles in red so they’re easy to spot before your lesson.

A quick tip about image sizes

The placeholders keep a fixed shape. If your picture has a different aspect ratio, PowerPoint may crop part of the image.

Don’t worry—that’s completely normal.

You can simply resize the placeholder to better match your picture and insert the image again. If something doesn’t look right, just delete it and try another image. It only takes a few seconds.

A small change that makes a big difference

I’ve found that this simple customization consistently increases participation.

When students meet someone they already know, conversations become more natural, reactions become more genuine, and even quieter learners are often encouraged to speak.

It’s only a few minutes of preparation, but in my experience, it’s one of the easiest ways to make the adventure feel like it was designed specifically for your class.