Capital Radio host Sian Welby recently recounted a hilarious yet awkward incident during a high-profile interview at the luxurious Corinthia hotel, where she was briefly mistaken for a sex worker due to some very flashy footwear.
Welby, 38, shared the story on the Capital Breakfast: After the Show Show! podcast, explaining the confusion arose while she was preparing to interview the stars of Jurassic World: Rebirth, including Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey.
The complication began after the Summertime Ball, leaving Welby slightly "in a state" on the Monday morning of the interview. Determined not to cancel, she utilized her hotel room to get ready. She dressed "all smart" for the interview, but a key component of her previous night’s costume wouldn’t fit in her bag: a pair of "shiny silver sequin boots" described as "Studio 54 in footwear form."
Carrying a suitcase and the flamboyant, knee-high boots into the prestigious Corinthia lobby, Welby immediately sensed trouble.
"It literally looks like the hooker’s arrived. It’s Pretty Woman," she recalled, laughing. "I literally look like they panicked when I walked in... I was bringing down the whole place."
Welby confirmed her colleague Jordan North’s assumption that staff believed she was a sex worker. "Definitely, 100 per cent," she affirmed, noting staff seemed desperate to "get her out of plain sight."
Despite her smart outfit, the boots proved too much for the hotel’s sensibilities. Staff, "panicking," attempted to "hide" Welby, ushering her to a table "hidden in a corner behind a pillar" in the foyer.
The attempt to hide her continued as she tried to write her interview notes. Welby was eventually "hilariously ushered away" just as Johansson and the other stars arrived, ensuring they wouldn't trip over her "rogue glitter boot."
The misunderstanding eventually cleared up, and the interview proceeded as planned. Welby ultimately learned a valuable lesson about using a larger suitcase next time.
Of course Sian Welby was totally wrong in one assumption. No sex worker would enter a hotel dressed like that. Sex workers would dress discretly on entry to a hotel, so as not to attract attention.