A reality TV series described as Strictly Come Dancing with horses has filmed a pilot starring the Duchess of York.
Months after the show, titled Dancing with Horses, was first mentioned at the TV Choice Awards, Deadline reports that Fox shot a “high-quality proof of concept pilot” for the series in the UK starring former royal family member Sarah Ferguson.
Ferguson, who is the ex-wife of Prince Andrew and mother to Princess Eugenie and Beatrice, starred in the pilot as a judge thanks to her history in horse riding.
Former ITV commissioner Claudia Rosencrantz, who is responsible for the Got Talent and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? franchises said that Ferguson was “wonderful to work with” and that she hopes the show will be made in the US soon.
“It’s been eight years in my head trying to get those horses dancing. It’s literally the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s like Dancing With The Stars but your partner is a horse and it is an absolutely, exquisite, complicated, wonderful show,” Rosencrantz said.
The pilot was shot in the UK so that they had access to highly trained animals from Britain and France, which Rosencrantz said was approved by animal welfare group American Humane.
“It made me extremely happy,” she said of the pilot. “I saw it, and at last thought, I can die happy.”
