Nigel Havers has been a familiar face on our TV screens for over 30 years, and now he's presenting brand new BBC daytime show, The Bidding Room. Throughout the successful TV career, he's been fortunate to be surrounded by some well-known faces, including royalty! The 68-year-old actor had a friendship with the late Princess Diana, and has spoken in the past about how the pair came to be firm friends.
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In 2017, the Coronation Street actor appeared on an episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories, in which he detailed how he and Princess Diana became acquainted at a party they both attended. "I was great friends with her," he began, adding: "I went to one of those dos that you go to. I was an ambassador for Dunhill Watches in those days. I thought, wouldn't it be nice to give her a watch so I said to them, 'Give us a watch and I'll give it to Princess Di' and I gave it to her and she was absolutely bowled over by it. She thought I had given it to her actually. She wrote me a lovely thank you letter which I've got. She did come and have tea a couple of times… it was very much just tea."
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© Photo: Getty ImagesPrincess Diana and Nigel met at an event and became good friends
The TV star then took the treasured letter from the late Princess on an episode of Loose Women later that year. He showed the panellists as he explained: "I found a letter she'd written me, which I thought was rather lovely, and she says 'I feel thoroughly spoiled' and she's written this little [smiley face], it's nice to have that." He added: "I did some charity work for her and she was just wonderful to be around. She was immensely attractive so you felt very good in her company."
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© Photo: BBCThe actor is presenter of new BBC show The Bidding Room
Nigel is now fronting the BBC's new show The Bidding Room. The programme welcomes members of the public as they bring in some of their most intriguing possessions to be valued by an expert, before facing five dealers who then bid against each other to purchase the item. The teams see a range of unusual items brought through their doors including a 1930's hairdryer, Edwardian scientific scales and a battered teddy. The owners of the possessions are told how much to expect for their objects and are at times offered more than they bargained for!
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