The Queen watches Strictly Come Dancing – and Duchess of Cornwall reveals who she voted for
The Queen is a fan of Strictly Come Dancing, with members of the Royal family voting for this year's winner, Rose Ayling-Ellis, the Duchess of Cornwall has revealed.
The Duchess, who greeted Miss Ayling-Ellis as “the Strictly star!” during a visit to her day job on the set of EastEnders, said: “We were all voting for you, Rose. I don't know how you did all those dances.”
Asked by the actress whether the Queen also watched the BBC One show, she replied: “I think she does. She probably watched you.”
The Duchess joined the Prince of Wales for a visit to the Albert Square set, where the EastEnders cast were filming a special episode celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Among Union bunting and a banner, set up for an on-screen street party, the royal couple met veteran actors from the show and disclosed they too had watched the soap.
During the meet-and-greet, the Duchess told actress Gillian Taylforth, who plays Kathy Beale, that she used to watch her on EastEnders when it first aired.
“She said: ‘I remember Angie and Dirty Den, I've got a few more episodes to catch up on,” Ms Taylforth said afterwards, adding one of her co-stars had offered to send a box set to Clarence House.
It was the first visit to EastEnders for the Prince and Duchess. In 2001, the Queen visited Dame Barbara Windsor, who played Peggy Mitchell, on the set and was photographed in the Queen Vic.
The Prince and Duchess posed for a group photograph with the cast and crew to mark the occasion, with Charles winning a chorus of approval after chivalrously giving Letitia Dean, who plays Sharon Watts in the soap, his coat because she was cold.
The couple went home with a signed Albert Square street sign.
After her moment with the Duchess, Miss Ayling-Ellis said: "It was really funny because she's a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing and she mentioned that she voted for me which is so lovely, and her grandchildren watch it.
“It is amazing, so lovely. I mean come on, it's the Royal family voting for me, sometimes you forget how many people watch the show, I am mind-blown.”
Danny Dyer, who plays Mick Carter in the show and was unexpectedly revealed to be a distant relation of the Royal family in a 2016 episode of Who Do You Think You Are, proclaimed it “very random to see the Royals”.
“You know, up close they were very charming,” he said. “Really chatty, they've got mad faces when you're close.”
Natalie Cassidy, who plays Sonia Fowler and has been in the show for “29 years, on and off”, said the Prince had asked her how it had been to arrive at the acting job “so small”.
“I just said sometimes it's easier being 10, you don't really know what you're coming into, and we had a bit of a laugh and he was really, really lovely,” said Miss Cassidy.
“Actually Camilla, although I didn't meet and greet her, she actually came over and made a beeline to me to say: ‘I know you, you've been in it a long time haven't you?’ so that was really sweet.
“They were very interested in all aspects and I think that is what's amazing about them, they make every conversation seem fresh.”
Tameka Empson, who plays character Kim Fox, added that the Prince commented on the feather boa she was wearing, asking: “What happened to the chicken?”
