Clifton resident Carol Vorderman might be known for both her beauty and brains, but the Welsh maths whizz is also a huge daredevil who has an affinity for flying. Naturally, pilot Carol, who earned her licence back in 2013, is a huge fan of Top Gun, and is attending the London premiere of the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, this evening (May 19).
The star-studded Leicester Square premiere, which is set to be attended by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will see Tom Cruise, the rest of the Top Gun cast, and other celebrities walk down the red carpet in front of scores of fans and movie buffs. Carol has hardly kept quiet about her invite to the premiere, and has been excitedly posting about the big night in the last week.
Ahead of tonight's premiere, Vorders shared a snap to social media of her with Tom Cruise, who plays Lt. Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in Top Gun, and has shared what she will be wearing to tonight's premiere. Posing in her khaki pilot suit, Carol wrote: "Trying my flying suit on a few days ago in London....I need a hair cut!!!
"Strictly speaking it should be a gown on the red carpet tonight but this is my little homage to the original Top Gun and to my passion for aviation. #pilot Been going through some pics flying my lovely plane Mildred...she's a twin engine Diamond DA42-VI and a beauty and have flown her all over Europe and up to Iceland in my survival kit...that was interesting and exciting."
61-year-old Carol added: "Some other pics with genius fighter pilots...supersonic in a Typhoon, thrown around in Hawk in the Red Arrows, with Ben Murphy in his Red Bull racer.....on the ramp of a Chinook over London. What a lucky woman I've been in that way.
"You know the ONLY thing I ever wanted to be growing up and probably since....is a fighter pilot. I was born 20 years too early, they didn't take women pilots in the military in my day but I got my licences in my 50s which closed a happy circle.
"So tonight isn't just a red carpet or a movie for me. It's much more meaningful I guess. I feel the need....the need....to say thank you."
Carol, who went to Cambridge to study engineering in a bid to fulfil her dream of being a fighter pilot in the RAF, met Tom Cruise a few years ago, whilst racing cars at Goodwood Motor Circuit in Chichester. Not only is Carol a daredevil when it comes to flying, but the maths whizz is also into car-racing.
After sharing her photograph with Top Gun star Tom Cruise, many of Carol's 220,000 fans complimented the pair. One Instagrammer wrote: "I am well jell! You would make a fabulous couple of thrill seekers though."
Paired with a winking emoji, one fan said: "That'd be a good looking couple". Meanwhile, another wrote: "How come neither of you look any older?!"
Carol will be reporting for duty at the Top Gun: Maverick premiere tonight in her pilot gear and 'Matherick' tag, a fitting play on words for the Countdown legend. She has previously visited Miramar Airshow in California, which is the 'original home' of Top Gun, and expressed her love for the film before.
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