Mike Tindall says he was forced into 'awkward' TikTok with young royal

by · Mail Online

He famously wasn't afraid to cut some shapes at King Charles' Coronation Concert last year.

But when it comes to dancing on the internet, Mike Tindall is much more reserved.

Last week, the former England rugby star, 46, appeared on SPORTBible's 'Red Flag, Green Flag' series along with James Haskell to promote their new book The Good, the Bad and the Rugby.

During the video interview, the podcast hosts were given light-hearted scenarios that could be considered a 'red flag' - including ordering chips at a Chinese restaurant or people sending lengthy voice notes.

In response, the pair - who both played for England together - had to wave a red or green flag and give their reasoning.

A video of Mike Tindall and James Haskell doing the 'Da Dip' TikTok dance has amassed over 1m views online

Despite taking different stances on certain issues, Mike and James were in agreement that TikTok dancing came under the category of 'red flag'.

When posed the question, Mike let out an exasperated sigh and joked that TikTok dance routines filled him with 'self-loathing'.

The pair revealed that they recently learnt a TikTok dance - which is a version of the 1996 'Da Dip' routine - with their co-author and co-presenter Alex Payne.

The video - which has amassed over 1.2m views on Instagram - shows Mike standing in the middle of his co-hosts and shimmying from side-to-side with his hands on his hips before doing finger guns.

James then copies the moves in the background before the pair turn to the side and break out some more moves.

'I had to flog myself into doing it,' James joked.

Although it was only supposed to be a one-off, Mike said that one of his nieces saw the video - and pressured him into doing another.

He said: 'Off the back of us doing that one last week, I then had to do it with my niece... which was really awkward.'

Although Mike Tindall didn't specify which royal he was talking about, he could have been referring to his nieces Isla and Savannah Phillips (pictured) - who also live in Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire
It's also possible that Mike could have been referring to Princess Charlotte - who is his wife's cousin

Although Mike didn't specify which of his nieces he did the TikTok dance with, he and his wife Zara are believed to have a close relationship with Peter Phillips' daughters.

Savannah and Isla Phillips also live on Princess Anne's Gloucestershire estate Gatcombe Park - where the ex-rugby player is raising his three children Mia, 10, Lena, six, and Lucas, three, with Zara.

However, it's also possible that Mike - who serves as something of an uncle figure to William and Kate's children - could have been referring to Princess Charlotte, who is his wife's cousin. 

Mike also has an older brother called Ian - but it's not known if he has any children. 

While Mike joked TikTok dances are a 'necessary evil sometimes', James added: 'There should be an age limit on it [...]

'I think it's a band between 16 and 21 when you're allowed to dance. If you're an adult, no.'

Pictured: Mike Tindall with his wife Zara danced the night away at the Coronation concert in London last year 
Zara was radiant as she joined her husband Mike to attend the star-studded Coronation concert

Mike and James' TikTok dance went down a storm with their followers across multiple social channels.

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One wrote on Instagram: 'You two need to sign up for Strictly and compete against each other.' 

Another added: 'Love it, can't stop watching!'

Meanwhile, a third said: 'I have watched this at least 10 times. Totally made my day, thanks guys.'

In May 2023, Mike Tindall was seen dancing at the Coronation Concert in London as Lionel Richie performed.

On a later episode of his podcast, the father-of-three joked that he was afraid he would 'sl*t drop' and 'rip his trousers' during the event, which was broadcast live.

Speaking to his co-hosts, Mike revealed that he was worried he'd get carried away with the fun but admitted he 'enjoyed himself' at the party in Windsor. 

He said: 'You can't hear Lionel Richie sing All Night Long and not get up and dance.

'The worst thing was everything else. You're going "yep I'll get up and dance to this". And then you're like "is the King gonna stand up?"'

It was certainly a party-filled Coronation weekend for the Tindalls, after Mike and Zara partied till 2am in London on the Friday night before looking fresh-faced and high-spirted as ever for King Charles III's crowning the next day.