Celebrity MasterChef hopeful Eric Underwood has revealed he once “panicked” during an awkward first meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla. The former Royal Ballet dancer performed in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II during his dance career, but first came face to face with royalty in 2006, shortly after he came to live in the UK from America.
Unexpected encounter at Highgrove
The 42-year-old and his dance company were visiting the then Prince of Wales and his wife at their Gloucestershire home, Highgrove, but admitted he had no idea how to behave around the pair.
Recalling the awkward moment in an interview with Hello! magazine, he said he “panicked” and blurted out: “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He then claimed he “ran to a corner” of the room and hasn’t seen them since.
“I’d love to redeem myself,” he told the publication. Eric has since swapped performing for presenting and admits he doesn’t miss ballet, though still enjoys occasionally teaching young children to dance through charity projects.
Blindfolded challenge on Celebrity MasterChef
He also demonstrates his cooking talents in the latest run of Celebrity MasterChef, which returns for its second week of heats tonight (August 25). He is one of five celebrities trying to impress judges Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli and secure a place in the competition.
But before anyone can move forward, the contestants face a high-stakes test, identifying mystery ingredients while blindfolded, with no clues allowed. One wrong answer means an immediate exit, while those who succeed earn a major advantage for the next round. In a preview, Giorgio tells them the task is “about the palate and the palate only” — so blindfolds are mandatory.
Timothy Bentinck’s royal recollections
Meanwhile, Eric isn’t the only celebrity to open up about meeting the King and Queen. Timothy Bentinck, who has played David Archer in The Archers since 1982, remembered a particularly noteworthy moment when he collected his MBE from the then Prince Charles in 2018.
A self-proclaimed “Archers addict”, the wife of King Charles is understood to enjoy relaxing to the programme during her downtime and has met the cast on numerous occasions.
According to Timothy, the monarch leaned over and told him at the ceremony: “My wife would be so jealous, she’s such a fan.”
Reflecting on an earlier meeting with Camilla, he described her as “so easy and so lovely”. Tim added to the publication: “The last time we met, I raised my eyebrow as if to say, ‘Gosh, you’re the Queen’. She looked at me with a look on her face as if to say, ‘I know!’”
In 2023, Queen Camilla sent her congratulations to The Archers as the long-running BBC radio drama reached its milestone 20,000th episode.
In a message to editor Jeremy Howe at the time, she celebrated the show’s enduring popularity and praised it for bringing “joy, companionship, laughter, tears, compassion and understanding” to listeners around the world.
Celebrity MasterChef airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One.
