Duchess of York in flying seat for Challenge Anneka-style show Down Under

The duchess has published her debut Mills & Boon novel called Her Heart For A Compass.
he Duchess of York (PA)
PA Archive
Tony Jones9 August 2021

Sarah, Duchess of York has revealed she is brushing up on her flying skills in preparation for a Challenge Anneka-style television show.

Sarah said she will be piloting a helicopter in the programme which will be filmed in Australia and see her talking to residents about the country’s culture and natural world.

Interviewed in the latest edition of Saga magazine published this week, the duchess said: “I’m working on a screen venture that is a bit like Challenge Anneka, if you remember that 1990s BBC reality programme. Mine will be called Duchess Down Under

Anneka Rice found fame with her show Challenge Anneka (Ian West/PA)
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“Instead of being in the helicopter, as Anneka was, I’ll be flying it – I’m retaking my helicopter test and renewing my licence. I’ll be talking to people in Australia about the culture, the flora and fauna of their nation.”

The duchess has published her debut Mills & Boon novel and hopes it will be adapted into a TV drama because “everything that’s written she can already see”, her co-author has said.

The Duke of York’s ex-wife described the book – Her Heart For A Compass – as a “sweeping, fabulous, historical novel” set in the 1870s and said her heroine Lady Margaret is “a very rebellious lady”.

Sarah and Diana were friends during the 1980s (PA)
PA Archive

The book, which draws on Sarah’s own life journey and incorporates research into her ancestry, is a fictional account of the life of the duchess’s great-great-aunt Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas-Scott.

Sarah co-wrote the book with Marguerite Kaye, who has written more than 50 novels for Mills & Boon set in a variety of historical eras.

During an appearance on ITV’s Loose Women, Sarah described how she and Diana, Princess of Wales would discuss the impact of being in the public eye.

Sarah’s debut romantic novel (Mills & Boon)
PA Media

She told the presenters: “I do address the eating disorder issue with Lady Margaret in the book. Diana and I used to talk about it a lot, what it is to be on the front pages and people judging about the size you are.

“I speak openly that it’s ok, just be who you are, keep fighting on and don’t give up. I’m still a work in progress, too.”

Talking about who would play her novel’s lead male, Sarah said: “I think Colin Firth is just phenomenal as Darcy… coming out of the lake. I love James Norton, but Aidan Turner takes the top spot for me. I thought he was brilliant as Leonardo and Poldark.”

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