Former Oprah guest excited for talk icon's Edmonton show
Show is Winfrey's first stop on tour of western Canada
CBC News
Posted: Jan 21, 2013 10:02 AM ET
Last Updated: Jan 21, 2013 5:51 PM ET
When Oprah Winfrey appears before a sold-out crowd at Rexall Place in Edmonton Monday night, one of her more memorable guests will be in the audience.
“Like a lot of us, I’m Oprah’s number one fan,” said Dawn Williams, who appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show three years ago.
Williams was an avid fan of the show in 2010 when she spotted a call from Oprah’s producers, looking for people interested in going on the show to get a “make-under” — trading in their wild fashion for a more conservative style.
The Edmonton mother, who describes her old style as “pink lips, low-cut tops and short skirts,” signed up.
“I know they would call. I just knew it,” she says.
Producers did call, eventually flying Williams down to Chicago and booking her to show off her toned-down new style.
While her time in the chair next to Winfrey was short, Williams says it made a big impact on her life.
“After being on The Oprah Winfrey Show, you know there were a lot of amazing changes that happened in my life. So, you know, they say that there is an Oprah effect,” she said.
“It made me realize that I could just be me.”
She met her fiancé following her appearance on the show. He spent $3,000 to buy a pair of tickets to Winfrey’s Rexall Place show.
Williams said she’s excited for the chance to see her idol once again, who she hasn’t watched since Winfrey ended her syndicated talk show in 2011. Winfrey concluded the show in order to launch her cable network OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
“I find myself still going to the 4 o’clock, or the 5 o’clock and turning on my TV, hoping to still find Oprah.”
She pulls from people what seems like other interviewers can't.”
More than 15 thousand people are expected to attend tonight's show at Rexall Place.
It's Winfrey’s first stop on a tour of western Canada that includes Calgary on Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday. CBC TV host George Stroumboulopoulos will interview Winfrey during the western tour.
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