Mike Tindalls blend of royalty with celebrity is dangerous

Mike Tindall stars in Dominos advert with James Haskell

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Mike Tindall, 44, and James Haskell, 37, star together in a new advert for Dominos UK, which is due to play on their acclaimed podcast, ‘The Good, The Bad & The Rugby’. What was the former rugby player’s body language like?

The new pizza advert is expected to be on Mike and James’ rugby podcast which airs on Spotify and YouTube.

In the advert, father-of-three Mike is seen arriving at James Haskell’s house in a helicopter carrying a stack of pizza boxes.

James greets him, saying: “Tinds! What a boy. And in a heli too! Someone must have owed you a really big favour!”

Mike replied: “Standard! You know me, mate! Friends in high places. I always deliver for you.”

Turning to the camera, James said: “Calm down! What do you need, a medal?”

This was a gentle dig at Mike who was teased over the three medals he wore at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, despite performing no military service in his past.

Mike is married to Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, 41, and the duo are not working royals.

The 44-year-old former rugby star recently raised eyebrows by stating he would star in  ’I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’ this year.

Judi James, a body language expert, spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk to analyse the newly released video of Mike.

She said: “The best thing about the body language in this video is that it shows how great Mike will be in ‘I’m A Celebrity’. He is clearly more than happy in front of the camera and, unlike his mate Haskell, he is not too bad at some ‘unscripted’ banter or at playing himself.”

However, Judi argues that other sketches involving different members of the Royal Family in the past have been more “amusing”.

She explained: “The toes curl less when he’s on the screen but, unlike other royal appearances, this is a very long film and we lose that sense of brief and funny glimpses of a royal that can possibly be amusing if filmed in an amusing context, like the clips of the Queen in the Olympic sketch.”

According to the expert, Zara Tindall’s husband is “clearly” making “a nod to his wife’s family”, which could be interpreted as “trading on them”.

She clarified: “Mike is clearly more about being an ex-rugby star than a man with royal connections, but the line about having ‘friends in high places’ is clearly a nod to his wife’s family, meaning it does introduce those links and trade on them rather than him just playing it as a non-royal sportsman.

“The worry is that it veers a bit into the ‘Royal Its A knockout’ territory, despite the fact that Mike is currently one of the most popular and even lovable members of the family.”

Since King Charles III became the monarch on September 8 earlier this year, the Royal Family have made several media appearances, more so than under the previous sovereign Elizabeth II.

Judi suggests that this is “not a good idea” for many reasons.

She added: “We’re seeing a sudden rush towards the cameras since Charles took over the throne. Zara has her clothing ad, Mike is doing I’m a Celeb and even Charles himself became the star of an episode of The Repair Shop. Perhaps they have forgotten why this is not a good idea.

“As a rule ‘less is more’ tends to be a useful survival mantra for the royals. Competing in a reality show might suit Mike as it’s not too far removed from a sporting challenge but when it comes to acting, modelling and presenting, the blend of royalty with celebrity can be difficult and even dangerous.

“When that cork comes out of the bottle it can be hard to get it back in again,” Judi opined.

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