The Duchess of Sussex landed an audition for Strictly Come Dancing during a trip to London in 2013 but was unable to accept the offer, according to a new royal book.
According to The Sun, Meghan Markle once turned down the chance to appear on Strictly Come Dancing after being invited to audition for the BBC reality competition in 2013, six years before she met and married Prince Harry. At the time she declined the offer, Meghan was busy with a film project and had no alternatives.
The news is revealed in Tom Bower's new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War between the Windsors. According to the much-anticipated book, Meghan couldn't make it to the audition of the dancing competition due to conflicting work schedules.
Meghan was preoccupied with her film project
Unconventional as it may sound, Meghan used to be a well-known actress before she became a Royal Family member following her marriage to Prince Harry.
Tom Bower's book reveals that Meghan was traveling back and forth to film her part in the TV hit legal drama Suits when she turned down the BBC bosses' offer. The royal author claims that during a trip to London in 2013 where she sought to boost her international celebrity status, the then-actress met with British talent manager Jonathan Shalit, who's the mastermind behind the meteoric rise to stardom of celebrities such as Dame Joan Collins, Sir Elton John, Lorraine Kelly, and Shirley Ballas. Already famous in the US for starring in Suits, Meghan reportedly wanted to expand her career to UK borders by breaking into its TV scene, and seeing Shalit was her first move to achieve the goal.
In an extract of his book, Bower writes:
'Shalit was excited. She was charming, good-looking, and admired by the small audience for Suits.'
Woman & Home writes that Meghan told Shalit she wanted to be a 'TV celebrity chef like Gordon Ramsay'. However, her ambition to become the female Ramsay was unfounded as Meghan proved not excellent at cooking, as noted by Mirror.
In his book, Bower writes:
'He (Shalit) was unaware that while Meghan liked eating good food, her cooking skills were limited. Other than blender-made vegetable soup, her specialties were plain pasta, roast chicken, barbecued hamburgers, and steak. The rest of her food was bought ready-made. Rather than cook, she imagined fronting a TV program to tour the world tasting food. There was neither magic nor magnetism.'
Unconvinced by her cooking ambitions, however, Shalit still saw Meghan's potential and arranged an audition for Strictly Come Dancing, which Meghan reluctantly turned down, citing her packed schedule.
'The programme idea evaporated. Undeterred, Shalit arranged an audition for Strictly Come Dancing. Reluctantly she declined. Tied to a Suits contract for nine months in the year, the timing clashed with filming in Britain. Disappointed, Shalit bid her farewell.'
Harry and Meghan's secrets will be exposed in Bower's book
Her missed opportunity to star in Strictly Come Dancing is just one of the several bombshells dropped in Tom Bower's upcoming biography. Titled Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War between the Windsors, it is another eagerly-awaited biography written by Bower, alongside other unauthorized biographies of Richard Brandon or Anthony Hopkins. The biography will hit the shelves on Thursday, July 21, giving readers a glimpse into the life behind closed doors at Buckingham Palace.
The book has been described as one that Megan 'will be dreading', comprising of the evidence and exclusive testimonies from both friends and enemies of Meghan who 'have never spoken before'.
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⋙ New book on Royal Family reveals shocking truths that Meghan Markle 'will be dreading'
