After its nationwide search to find the country’s most devoted royal fans, BBC America has unveiled the five finalists who will join Cat Deeley on a whistle-stop tour of royal London, as part of its original program, Royally Mad.
Mad For The British Royals
The finalists come from all over the U.S. and include two life-long friends who live on opposite sides of the country and haven’t seen one another in 10 years. The one thing they ALL have in common – they ADORE the Royal Family. BBC AMERICA’s Royally Mad will give them the chance of a lifetime: to visit places associated with the Royal Family and the Royal Wedding and meet some of the people who know Kate and William and who are involved in the upcoming nuptials.
Perry Simon, GM Channels, BBC Worldwide America says: “When we set out to cast Royally Mad we were looking for Americans from all over the States, whose enthusiasm and delight in all things royal set them apart from everyone else. And that’s just what we’ve found in our final five. They’re passionate about the Royals and this lies at the very heart of our show. I’ve no doubt they will have a fantastic time with Cat in London and that this will shine through when Royally Mad premieres on BBC AMERICA on April 12.”
The Royally Mad Final Five Are
Holly Passalaqua and Karen Bishop
29-year olds Holly and Karen grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where they met and became life-long friends thanks to their mutual admiration of all things Royal. On the day Princess Diana died both girls stayed talking on the phone for hours to mourn the loss of their beloved icon. Although they went their separate ways after High School they made sure to stay in touch on the anniversary of Diana’s death via phone, email – and more recently via Facebook.
Holly currently resides in LA with her two cats – Prince William and Prince Harry – and writes a pop culture blog called Sweet Girl Sometime where she frequently posts about Will and Kate. She claims that some of her fondest memories growing up were around the Royal Family, and to have inherited her love for all things royal from her mother, who used to write to Prince Charles as a girl.
Karen is newly married after pursuing a career in Washington DC and is back living in her hometown of Jackson Mississippi. She has forever dreamed of becoming a princess. Karen loves that Kate has grown up in a regular family and therefore has an understanding of the people.
Allison Lackey
24-year old Allison hails from Chicago, Illinois. Her interest in the Royal Family first began while watching her mother mourn the death of Princess Diana and she has been fascinated with them ever since. Since the Royal Engagement Allison has become a full-on fanatic. Every morning she wakes up to her Google alerts for the latest information about Kate and William and, as a Christmas present, her boyfriend bought her a replica of Diana’s blue sapphire engagement ring. Allison has already requested April 29 off work so she is able to celebrate the nuptials and she is hosting a bachelorette party for Kate in Chicago. Allison is working hard to learn the history and traditions of the Royal Family while trying to better understand them.
Lori Butler
A self-proclaimed walking encyclopaedia of royal trivia, Lori Butler lives in La Vergne, Tennessee. She is completely fixated with not only royalty, but also weddings. She’s a certified wedding planner and can’t think of anything better than a combination of the two. Lori has had a serious obsession with the Royal Family for as long as she can remember, amassing a vast collection of memorabilia. She remembers staying up all night to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana (even though she was 9 months pregnant with her daughter at the time) and even convinced her daughter to get married on the 25th anniversary of the wedding.
Rich Lorich
Despite working as a flight attendant and travelling all over the world, 41-year old Rich from L.A. has never been to London! Rich recalls right where his addiction to royalty began: July 29, 1981 – the wedding of Charles and Diana. While the other boys were outside, Rich was watching the royal nuptials on a six inch black and white television. Rich is not only fascinated with William and Kate, but everything royal and claims to know way too much about the entire Royal Family. He can’t wait for April 29.
When Can I See Them
Part one of Royally Mad premieres Tuesday, April 12, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and part two of Royally Mad premieres Tuesday, April 19, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
