Princess Diana “loved” pop music and was “dead excited” to meet 80s pop stars Bros, former Capital Radio DJ Pat Sharp has revealed.
Speaking exclusively to Entertainment Daily to launch his new book, Re-Run The Fun, Pat opened up about a picture in his autobiography, where he is seen meeting the princess.
Pat revealed he met Princess Diana “a few times” and she “never had any airs and graces”.
The DJ explained that Diana was a “big fan” of Capital Radio. In fact, she used to come and “sit in” on the Graham Dene breakfast show.
Pop music fan Princess Diana had no ‘airs and graces’
Pat explained: “She used to come in and drink coffee out of a polystyrene cup in the office. She never had any airs and graces.
“She was a patron of the Capital Radio charity, Help A London Child, so all those times and all those days were good really. You had someone like her on board and you felt quite special.”
She used to come in and drink coffee out of a polystyrene cup in the office. She never had any airs and graces.
He added of the people’s princess: “Whenever I met her she was nothing less than polite. But you know what she seemed like, she seemed like she just loved pop music.”
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Excitement at meeting Bros
Pat then opened up on Diana’s excitement at meeting 80s boy band Bros.
Speaking about the picture, which shows them backstage at a gala night, he revealed: “In that line-up where she’s standing with me, she’d also met Bros. I think she was dead excited to meet Bros.
“She would’ve been in her twenties and thought, wow, this is great. As excited as people in the line would’ve been to meet her, she loved her pop stars, she was that age.
“Being younger than Prince Charles, she would’ve always loved going to Live Aid, seeing Duran Duran play. It was what she was always in to.
“It’s strange, but she just seemed like a pop fan, which you wouldn’t expect her to be being a royal. But she was a person and as a person she liked pop music.”
Opening up about writing his autobiography, Pat told ED! he “flatly turned it down” until the idea of a “spoof memoir” came up.
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As a result, the book blends fact and fiction and Pat said part of the fun for readers will be trying to determin what’s real and what’s exaggerated.
Pat Sharp sets the record straight on Fun House
Looking back at his 80s and 90s heyday, Pat does want to set the record straight on one thing.
He never ignored letters from fans wanting to appear on ITV show Fun House.
“Millions of people, whenever I do a gig, say to me: ‘You didn’t reply.’ But I never saw a single letter – there was never an address given out. People just wrote to Fun House at ITV and somehow it managed to get there.
“People were chosen by going the production company going to the schools saying we need a girl and a boy from this school in Belfast or Cornwall and people went: ‘I’ll do it.’
“Can you imagine going to a school and doing that now?” he asked. “You’d have to pass about 300 exams and testing to see if you’re even acceptable to even walk in the school gates.”
Could it ever return?
So would he ever bring back the iconic kids’ TV show?
“Yes, but not with me or the girls because it wouldn’t be right. We’re too old and it wouldn’t be our thing,” he said, telling ED! he’s still good friends with twins Melanie and Martina Grant.
“It would have to be with young presenters. But I wouldn’t mind being involved in it, as a consultant of some kind, making a more up-to-date version. It would be good.”
A live interactive touring version of the show is also on the cards. Although with COVID-19 Pat admitted it is a little up in the air.
“It’s getting close. It’s getting scuppered a bit with COVID because everything stopped, especially a bunch of adults diving into a ball pond with sweat and everything else probably isn’t ideal at the moment is it.
“But it is close and if it did happen it would be a live interactive immersive attraction that will be in various cities up and down the country.
“So adults could go along and get into a Fun House even though they never went on the television and always wanted to, and drive go-karts, get messy and at the end of it have a drink and a dance with a DJ,” he concluded.
Re-Run The Fun: My Life As Pat Sharp is out now, RRP £20.
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