The former Royal Ballet dancer Eric Underwood had only lived in the UK for a few weeks when the company were invited to meet the then-Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at Highgrove, their private residence in Gloucestershire, in 2006.
Eric, 42, who was born in Washington DC and raised in Maryland, says he wasn't familiar with the correct protocol when he was introduced to the royal couple.
© Dave Benett/Getty Images for Bri"I didn't know what to say," he says in this exclusive interview with HELLO!. "I panicked, and I said, 'It's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you,' and then I ran to a corner. I haven't met them since – I'd love to redeem myself!"
Twenty years on, Eric has become embedded in British culture, befriending Kate Moss, presenting coverage of Royal Ascot and relishing life on a 500-year-old, 300-acre farm in the Chilterns with his husband, the British venture capitalist Harry Briggs. Now, he's about to go prime time, as he brings his love of farm-to-table cooking to the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen.
"I was a big fan of the show, and then I met someone from the show while I was at Royal Ascot,” he says. “It was a dream."
Career change
It's been nine years since Eric left the Royal Ballet, during which time he performed for the late Queen Elizabeth II. "I don't miss it at all," he says now. "Sometimes, when I'm working with charities (Eric is an ardent supporter of many organisations, including the Tropical Isles carnival group, who he hosts on his farm), I'll teach the kids a little bit of dance, but I don't miss dancing at all."
Perhaps one of his most high-profile students was the model Lila Moss, whose mother, Kate, asked Eric to teach after they met at a party in Paris. "We started talking about Abby Lee [Miller] and Dance Moms," he says. "And she was like, 'You should come to my hotel tomorrow and teach my daughter dance.’ So I went, and I was teaching Lila a little bit of ballet. It was very cool.
"A month later. I got a call from [the journalist] Katie Grand saying, 'Kate's shooting Italian Vogue and she'd love to do it with you.’ I've never seen someone so incredibly professional. I thought, 'Oh this is going to be a mess, she's late,’ and then she just pulled it together. I was like, 'Oh Eric, step up your game.'"
© Corbis via Getty ImagesIn 2023, he met his now-husband, Harry, in London, and the couple, who married in 2024, moved into Harry's family home. Now, days may start with a 6am call to herd a cow off a footpath and conclude with a champagne-fuelled hedge-planting party. Eric, who shares videos of his farm life on Instagram, says he has a new relationship with food.
"I didn't even know that an egg came from a chicken's butt," he says. "I'm like, 'Oh, I'd love to make a crumble, let me get outside and get some rhubarb. It's very hands-on.
"If I'm completely honest, I used to eat a lot of processed food [when he was dancing]. That's a no-go now."
Moving to the farm was a turning point. "[I’d ask,] ‘Why does this have 20 ingredients? When we made it, it had three.’ And watching my family members and friends get sick in America… you're like, 'This can't be a coincidence.’”
Comfort food
Eric, whose mother died just days before he speaks with hello!, has fond memories of her cooking. "I grew up smelling my mother's cooking in the kitchen: meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, collard greens." That macaroni and cheese is his signature dish. "If it smells like what my mother was making, then I'm going the right way."
© Kate Hollingsworth PhotographyHe hopes his future has more food in it, speaking of his hopes of "a supper club where I got people together from different walks of life and we could talk about interesting things”.
"I want people to be the subject and food to be the vehicle."
The latest series of Celebrity MasterChef is broadcast weekly on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer; Eric appears in heat two from 25 August
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