John Travolta shares the story behind his White House dance with Princess Diana

It has been 25 years since John Travolta shared an iconic dance with Princess Diana on the floor of the White House, but it remains one of the most talked-about performances even today. The actor recently recounted the events that led to the impromptu dance with the Princess of Wales, and dubbed it a "storybook moment."

The dance happened when Diana was visiting the White House as part of her and Prince Charles' first official trip to the United States in 1985. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan had invited prominent people from all walks of life for the special dinner, including John Travolta.

In an exclusive clip from the new special "In Their Own Words: Diana, Princess of Wales," which premieres Sunday on PBS at 8 p.m. ET, the Oscar-winner revealed that contrary to what someone might expect, the dance was actually Diana's dream come true. He also said that it was the then-first lady who helped facilitate the dance.

The 67-year-old recalled that he "went with a very humble attitude" to the dinner because he felt he "was an extra in a room of very important people." However, the hostess soon approached him at the dinner and said that he is actually expected to take centre stage with the British royal.

"About 10 o'clock at night, Nancy Reagan tapped on my shoulder and said, 'The princess, her fantasy is to dance with you. Would you like to dance with her tonight?' And I said, 'Well of course,'" the "Grease" star recalled.

The actor also revealed that the minutes prior to the dance were actually a bit tense. He recalled, "My heart starts to race, you know, and I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around and looks at me, and she had that kind of bashful dip [of her chin] that she did, and she looked up at me, and I said, 'Would you care to dance with me?'"

"The whole room cleared. We danced for what felt like 15 minutes," Travolta said.

The actor compared the moment to fairytale Cinderella, explaining, "It was a storybook moment. We bowed when it was over, and, you know, she was off, and I was off, and my carriage turned into a pumpkin