Prop gets erroneous credit for Traitors appearance
‘Who am I to correct her? I didn’t really know what to say’
Anyone who tuned in to the celebrity version of The Traitors last year will be familiar with the former England rugby player Joe Marler. With the exception, it turns out, of Princess Anne who was involved in a case of mistaken identity during the Calcutta Cup pre-match formalities at Murrayfield last Saturday.
Clearly unaware Marler had retired from rugby 15 months ago, the Princess Royal stopped for a chat with her new favourite prop while being introduced to the England team in her role as patron of Scottish Rugby. She even confided how amusing she had found him on Celebrity Traitors, which would have been fine had the player in front of her been Marler rather than another bearded English front-rower, Joe Heyes.
“She thought I was Joe Marler which was … quite upsetting,” said Heyes. “She said: ‘You’re awfully funny on TV.’” To his credit, the 26-year-old Leicester tighthead – “I was a bit starstruck to start with” – did his best to avoid a diplomatic incident. “Who am I to correct her? I didn’t really know what to say. I almost went with it.”
