Tom Selleck reveals why he 'kept apologising' to Princess Diana after John Travolta's famous White House dance
23 September 2026, 12:51
The actor recalled the awkward moment palace aides asked him to interrupt one of the most iconic dances in royal history.
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Tom Selleck has shared the untold story behind his memorable dance with Princess Diana, revealing he spent the entire encounter apologising after interrupting her now-famous dance with John Travolta.
The 81-year-old actor reflected on the unforgettable evening during a live recording of Ted Danson's Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, recalling how an unusual request from palace aides led to him joining the Princess of Wales on the White House dance floor.
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The star-studded state dinner took place in November 1985 when then-President Ronald Reagan welcomed Prince Charles and Princess Diana to Washington.
Hollywood heavyweights John Travolta, Clint Eastwood and Tom Selleck were also among the guests.
Travolta's dance with Diana quickly became one of the defining images of the evening, but Selleck revealed the pair were never meant to enjoy a second dance together.
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According to Tom, he and Eastwood were approached after Diana and the Saturday Night Fever star finished their first dance.
"One of you has to cut in," he recalled being told, explaining that aides were keen to prevent speculation from developing if the pair stayed on the floor together.
Tom admitted his immediate reaction was disbelief. "I'm not cutting in on John Travolta!" he remembered saying, while joking that Clint "didn't even bother" volunteering for the task.
Eventually, the Magnum P.I. star accepted the assignment, although he admitted he felt far from qualified to take over from the accomplished dancer.
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Speaking to Cheers star Ted Danson, Tom joked that the only ballroom moves he could remember came from cotillion classes during his youth.
"I just remembered the box step and the dip," he laughed, before adding: "And you don't want to dip with Princess Di."
Despite his nerves, Tom said Diana immediately put him at ease, although he confessed he couldn't stop apologising throughout their brief dance.
"It wasn't a very long dance, but I just kept apologising for my dancing, and it was over," he said.
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While Tom worried about his own performance, his wife, Jillie Mack, appeared to be having a much easier time on the dance floor.
A trained dancer, she was paired with the now-King Charles and, according to Tom, was having "a great old time."
Looking back on the royal, Tom described Diana as both warm and engaging, saying she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the glamorous evening.
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"She was tall and gracious and she was having the time of her life," he said. "She loved every minute." He also claimed the guest list for the prestigious dinner had been selected by Diana herself.
Tom has previously reflected on the evening in his memoir You Never Know, where he offered further insight into meeting one of the world's most famous women.
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"Princess Diana was lovely, and there was a very shy quality about her in spite of her being well schooled in the art of conversation," he wrote.
He added that Diana carried much of the conversation herself, admitting he was relieved she did most of the talking.
"I gotta say she seemed to be having the time of her life," he wrote. "I was relieved she talked most of the time. Let's just say it was not my finest hour as a conversationalist."
His dance with Diana ended sooner than expected when Jillie shared another dance with Charles, prompting Eastwood to step in and replace Tom as Diana's partner.
That left the actor dancing with First Lady Nancy Reagan, an experience he remembered far more confidently.
"Clint took over for me, and I got to dance with my friend Nancy," Tom wrote in his memoir. "She was relaxed, and I was relaxed."
He also recalled that music from the 1940s was playing as Nancy quietly sang along, describing it as the perfect way to end an unforgettable evening that has remained one of the most talked-about moments in royal and Hollywood history.
