“Tom Selleck Shares Why He Nearly Turned Down Dancing with Princess Diana at the 1985 White House Dinner”

If not for John Travolta, Tom Selleck might never have had the chance to dance with Princess Diana.

In a recent interview with Town & Country, the 79-year-old Blue Bloods actor opened up about a passage from his new memoir, You Never Know, where he shares the story of his unexpected dance with the Princess of Wales at the 1985 White House Dinner.

At the time, Selleck was busy filming Magnum, P.I. in Hawaii and was initially uncertain about attending the event. His publicist informed him, “Look, this is Princess Diana’s personal guest list, and there are only three actors on it: you, Clint Eastwood, and John Travolta.”

Selleck, who recounted the event in his memoir, described how he and Eastwood tried to stay out of the limelight while Travolta and Diana shared their now-famous dance. “We slipped away from all the dancers and moved to a spot slightly around the corner,” Selleck wrote, as reported by USA Today. “By then, John and Princess Di were dancing to an up-tempo number, and everyone had gathered around them, clapping.”

However, when Travolta and Diana began a second dance, a British woman approached Selleck and urged him to step in and ask the princess to dance before their second spin could “start rumors.”

Selleck recounted his response: “‘I’M NOT CUTTING IN ON JOHN TRAVOLTA!’ I said, probably louder than I intended. She was not pleased.”

Despite not cutting in on Travolta, Selleck eventually took his turn before Diana and Travolta started a third dance. He described Diana as “lovely,” noting her “shy quality” despite her polished conversational skills.

Selleck admitted to Town & Country that he was starstruck by Diana. “Oh yeah, I was starstruck,” he said. When it came to dancing, he confessed he wasn’t very skilled, having “skipped cotillion” in his youth. “All I could do was the box step and a dip, and I wasn’t about to dip with Princess Di! So I just talked. But she was very gracious … It was certainly memorable.”

Meanwhile, while Selleck danced with Diana, his wife, Jillie Mack, had the opportunity to dance with Diana’s then-husband, Prince Charles (now King). “The prince danced with my wife, who’s British. He even asked her for a second dance, which was quite special for Jillie,” Selleck shared with Town & Country.