The Goslings had first seen Nureyev dance with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, just before he defected to the West in June 1961. Soon after, when Margot Fonteyn persuaded the young Russian virtuoso to come to London to appear in a gala for the Royal Academy of Dance, she asked the Goslings to befriend him. Taking to this with a will, they came to regard him with particular admiration. In their glowing review of his first Covent Garden performance, they suggested the rejuvenating effect he might have on British ballet, describing him as "a balletic missile, a wild animal loose in the drawing room." They offered him free run of their Kensington home and helped him to adjust to life in a new country. In time, the friendship deepened, as there was genuine respect and liking on both sides. After the Goslings' son Nicholas married and moved away, Nureyev became the son of their late middle age. They became, in effect, his surrogate parents, offering him guidance, affection, and hospitality until the end of his and their lives.