HE SHARED a very special moment with Sir Anthony Hopkins, booked a private basket ball game viewing for a celebrity guest and helped evacuate his hotel during a fire.

Now William Thomson, head concierge at the Randolph, has been crowned the UK’s Young Concierge of the Year.

At 30 years old, The Society of the Golden Keys (Les Clefs d’Or ) – ‘the world’s premier association of concierges’ – has named him one of the best in the world.

Now he will represent Great Britain at the Les Clefs d’Or world congress in Berlin next year, where he will vie for the title of the world’s best young concierge.

The Iffley Road resident, who dreamed of being a world-class butler when he was growing up in Yorkshire, said he was blown away by the award.

He told the Oxford Mail: “There was some very stiff competition.

“To have won this prestigious award and be identified as the very best in the UK is a fantastic achievement.”

Mr Thomson started his career as an apprentice at the Manor Court Hotel in Carnaby, moved to The Bear in Woodstock in 2006 and became its first concierge in 2008.

In 2009 he transferred to what he called the ‘best hotel in the world’ – the Randolph – becoming head concierge in 2014.

Describing his job he said: “You never say no, as long as it’s above the law.

“Not so long ago we had a celebrity at the hotel, a real character, and he wanted to watch a basketball game that wasn’t on the TV.

“The atmosphere just isn’t the same on a laptop so I spoke to a good friend of mine at a local pub who had a 60-inch TV upstairs, and he agreed to close the room for the night.

“We shimmied in him in a disguise with his entourage and he sat and necked some of Oxford’s finest local ales, watching the game until 1am.”

In another example of going above and beyond the call of duty, Mr Thomson befriended an entire Brazilian family who came to Oxford so their children could go to school in the city.

Though they only stayed at the hotel briefly, Mr Thomson helped them find school places for the children, arranged housing for them and even helped set up their bills.

In less happy times, he helped evacuate the building when a kitchen fire threatened to destroy the hotel last year.

But one of his fondest memories was meeting star of stage and screen Sir Anthony Hopkins.

He recalled: “He was the most humble individual I had met in a long time.

“We had a good chat, he had a scone with clotted cream then he jumped on the piano and entertained everyone for about 30 minutes.

“I always say, if you haven’t made someone’s day, you haven’t done your job.”