Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting at the King’s Birthday Honours earlier this month, two decades after she began hosting the show
Vernon Kay snubbed an invite to visit Prince William(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
Vernon Kay brutally snubbed a special invite from Prince William after wife Tess Daly was awarded an MBE. Tess, 56, was given the honour for her work in television, including Strictly Come Dancing.
William, 43, meanwhile left a voicenote with Radio 2 star Scott Mills on Tuesday morning. It came as Scott, 51, was interviewing wildlife expert Robert Irwin. The 21-year-old is an ambassador for William’s Earthshot Prize, which recognises environmental causes.
In his voicenote, the prince invited Scott to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, in November to experience the Eartshot Prize show. William said: “It’s going to be a fantastic event, great show.”
He also made reference to Robert’s love of exotic animals, he added: “Just beware Scott, that Robert likes to pull random terrifying animals and creatures out of his pockets while he’s on anyone’s show and talking to them. So just watch your back at all times that a tarantula or something doesn’t suddenly pop onto your desk.”
During a conversation on Radio 2, Scott extended the invite to colleague Vernon, he said: “So I’ve just been invited to the Earthshot prize in Rio by Robert Irwin and Prince William. Want to come?”
Veron and Tess have been married since 2003(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Vernon however opted against visiting William’s project. He said: “Not sure about that. It’s a bit far.”
Scott replied: “It is quite far and last time I was there, I was on a 23-hour bus on Race Across the World. And that was the bus with the overflowing toilet, good memories.”
Scott won Celebrity Race Across the World with husband Sam Vaughan last year. The pair travelled around 7,700 miles as they raced from Belém, northern Brazil, to Frutillar in southern Chile, with the budget of a single plane ticket.
Vernon went on to say that he has previously visited Rio de Janeiro, travelling to the World Cup in 2014. Vernon’s wife Tess was honoured with her MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours earlier this month.
Prince William founded the Earthshot Prize(Image: PA)
The 56-year-old has fronted Strictly for two decades now, originally with Sir Bruce Forsyth and then alongside Claudia Winkleman. Upon receiving the honour, Tess said it is a “genuine privilege for people to invite you into their living room”.
She told the BBC she almost missed out on the accolade because the letter was sent to the wrong address. She said: “I don’t think I’ve come back down to earth yet. I didn’t see it coming and it almost didn’t happen, because the letter went to the wrong address.
Scott Mills and his then-fiance Sam Vaughan in Celebrity Race Across the World (Image: BBC)
“And thank goodness, someone very kind found me. And so by the time I got it, I only had, I think it was two or three days left to accept it.
“There’s a deadline of acceptance. I can’t imagine not ever wanting to accept such a wonderful award, but of course I did.”
Tess and Vernon met while they were working on rival television stations. Their relationship blossomed and they married in 2003 at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Horwich, near Bolton. They share daughter Phoebe and Amber together.