Catherine Tate admits she “feels sorry” for the Royal Family ahead of the launch of her BBC sitcom, Queen of Oz.
The comic’s new series follows the life of Princess Georgiana who is always the life of the party, but her life turns upside down when her wild lifestyle causes scandal to the British monarchy.
In an effort to distance themselves from the fiery redhead, the fictional family make her the new Queen of Australia in an attempt to instil some etiquette and decorum into her as a newly-appointed queen.
READ MORE: BAFTA fans spot Catherine Tate’s racy ‘wardrobe issue’ as she wows in plunging gown
Now, the former Doctor Who companion has lifted the lid on what it was like to play a member of the royal family in her new comedy series, which is set to drop next Friday, June 16.
(Image: BBC)
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star and other publications, the 53-year-old comic confessed that she would hate to be a member of royalty in real life.
She explained: “It must be awful to be constantly looked at and constantly scrutinised. I can imagine nothing worse than having to dedicate your life to the public.
“I didn’t study any member of the royal family. It sounds like an awful lot of hard work. It’s a highly fictitious creation and also, it’s a piece of entertainment as well.”
(Image: BBC/Lorenzo Agius)
“I’m sure there’s masses of things like royal protocol that wouldn’t happen but you have to take artistic license and think ‘what works for this world that we’ve created’,” she concluded.
The TV star went on to reveal that she had actually met the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety show back in 2005.
Catherine recalled: “I did! It was after the Royal Variety show when everyone lines up to shake hands.
(Image: PA)
“She was very gracious and engaged, no mean feat when you think about how many of us she had to meet.”
The auburn beauty met the late monarch alongside Dame Shirley Bassey, Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins, Sir Cliff Richard and Ozzy Osbourne.
The timing of the BBC series, which comes in the wake of a number of globally-viewed royal events over the past few year, turned out to be purely accidental.
(Image: BBC)
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Following the impact of the global pandemic and the new Doctor Who special later this year, filming for her sitcom was postponed until last Autumn.
But Catherine says she appreciates that the BBC – which led the coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral last September and King Charles III’s coronation back in May – was open to her tongue-in-cheek take on the monarchy.
She said: “I think it’s great that the BBC will hold the reins of being in charge of something as incredible as the coronation, but will also go, ‘This is a palate-cleanser and it’s a comedy’.”
The Queen of Oz is free to stream on BBC iPlayer or watch on BBC One from Friday, June 16.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
