John Travolta has revealed that a meeting with Princess Diana reignited his failing career as an actor.

He told the Mirror how a dance with the Princess of Wales in 1985 allowed him to build on the success he had had with Grease and Saturday Night Fever.

He said: "That was an amazing moment because I was having a dip in my career and no one was interested in me.

"Suddenly, I was the only thing that mattered in America to Princess Diana and I was reborn. I was like, 'Wow! I matter to someone again.' I was on the cover of every newspaper and magazine in the world and someone as significant as Princess Diana reminded everyone of me.

"It was a wonderfully special moment of her fulfilling a dream and giving me a new value."

He went on to claim Nancy Reagan had told him that Diana had explicitly requested to dance with him.