Racing presenter Oli Bell once caused a stir on the track during the Gold Cup, an act that Queen Elizabeth II witnessed and later labelled him a "lunatic" for. Bell also posed a question to the late Queen, a racing fanatic, about his father, a renowned radio journalist, leading him to brand himself an "idiot" for the bizarre incident.
The episode unfolded when Bell, now 38, was overjoyed as Big Orange crossed the finish line first at Royal Ascot in 2017. The ITV star momentarily lost himself in the result, as the victorious horse was trained by his uncle, Michael Bell. He then made headlines when he left his post, where he was set to interview winning jockey James Doyle, to dash onto the track and celebrate exuberantly. Bell's momentary lapse of self-restraint, although merely a light-hearted display of joy, subsequently caught the eye of the former Monarch, who would attend race meetings throughout the year.
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After receiving a gentle reprimand from Her Majesty, known for her love of horse racing, he followed up with the trivial question he would later regret.
"As they crossed the line all I could hear was him saying Big Orange had won and I went bananas," Bell said to The Racing Post in 2021. "At that moment I completely forgot that I was reporting for ITV.
"I ran after the horse in sheer shock and delight. I had very little to do with it aside from my uncle training him. But I knew how much it meant to all of the team."
Bell was subsequently summoned to meet Elizabeth by her racing adviser, John Warren. Bell continued: "In my ear I could hear they were planning to leave for the upcoming break with a live shot of the Queen and here I am on my way to meet her.
"How do you meet the Queen? I thankfully remembered what to do and took my hat off. She said, 'You're the lunatic that ran on the track yesterday?' I said, 'Yes, I am.'"
During the extraordinary encounter, he then enquired whether the legendary monarch knew of his father, Rupert, a celebrated racing commentator for talkSPORT.
Bell added: "We just had a normal, lovely conversation about the race, and I stupidly asked her if she listened to my dad's commentary on the radio. I'm not sure whether the Queen is a regular talkSPORT listener but I asked her anyway. It was like having a dream, it was just completely bonkers.
"Looking back, it's the thing that everyone talks to me about even now. What was so great about it for me was being reminded what it's like to be a racing fan again. I did it because I was an idiot."
ITV Racing director Paul McNamara also remembered how Bell's antics overshadowed the victorious team, becoming the day's main talking point.
"Suddenly we can see Oli getting up and going over the fence like some sort of lunatic," McNamara said. "All of a sudden that becomes a large part of the story.
"We usually try to get the winning emotion out of the jockey, the trainer, the groom, etc. I didn't realise it was going to come from one of our own reporters. As a director you realise this is gold dust. It was beautiful carnage and quite unique really."