Dame Helen Mirren is set to come face to face with The Queen once more after signing up to host a Diamond Jubilee pageant next month (May 2012).

Mirren portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the hit 2006 film and they subsequently met in 2008 and again in 2011.

Now, the actress is in line for a third meeting after agreeing to help introduce acts during a show at England’s Windsor Castle in honour of the royal’s 60 years on the throne.

Susan Boyle, opera group Il Divo and entertainer Rolf Harris are among the performers who will take to the stage during the four-day event.

Simon Brooks Ward, the show’s director and producer, says, “We have been overwhelmed by the goodwill and support from stars across the globe, who each have their own personal memories of the Queen, and share an enormous amount of love and respect for her work.

“The Diamond Jubilee Pageant will reflect the truly global impact the Queen has had during her 60-year reign, bringing horses, people, music and their culture from around the world to join the party.”

The event will take place between 10 and 13 May 2012, with Boyle performing on the final day, when the royals will attend.

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April 04, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles

Kind-hearted Dame Helen Mirren has urged British women to donate bras to charity, insisting the garments will help provide employment for disadvantaged African females.

The Oscar-winning actress has teamed up with Oxfam to launch the Big Bra Hunt, which aims to collect one million brassieres by the end of April 2012.

A survey found the average British woman has several barely-worn items of lingerie in her underwear drawer, and Mirren wants women to gather their unwanted garments to help the charity’s work in Senegal.

She says, “Before I heard about this campaign I had never thought to donate my bras to Oxfam. I’m sure many women have a number of bras stowed away left untouched for years.

“The Big Bra Hunt really highlights how every last item donated to Oxfam can be used in a truly unique way, making a real difference to people all around the world.”

Brassieres are one of the most desirable items in West Africa because they are so complex to manufacture, and the donated items will help boost employment prospects for disadvantaged Senegalese women as Oxfam bosses recruit more staff to sell them.

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April 03, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles

Dame Helen Mirren has learned how to give CPR after signing up to become a patron for a U.K. ambulance organisation.

The Queen star toured the London Ambulance Voluntary Responder Group this week after agreeing to become the group’s new spokesperson.

During her visit, the actress got on her knees and practiced administering CPR on a dummy after learning lifesaving techniques from volunteer paramedics.

Mirren got involved with the charity after her friend Chris Worwood, 40, was resuscitated following a cardiac arrest at the London premiere of her movie The Debt in 2011.

Chatting about her new role as patron, Mirren heaped praise on police constable Alan ‘Al’ Moore – the volunteer who saved her pal.

She says, “It’s very simple. These people saved my friend’s life. In 10 or 15 minutes, he would have been dead if he had not had the fortune of Al being there. I just want more people to have this fortune.”

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March 30, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles

Stage and screen actress Jessica Biel will join Tony Award winner Scarlett Johannson and Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren in the film Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, according to Deadline.com

The film, to be written by John McLaughlin and directed by Sacha Gervasi, is based on the non-fiction book by Stephen Rebello that tracks how Hitchcock decided to make the now-classic film.

Hopkins will play Hitchcock and Mirren will play the filmmaker’s wife, Alma Reville. Johansson and Biel will play Janet Leigh and Vera Miles, who co-starred in Psycho.

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March 22, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles

Veteran actress Helen Mirren says she hopes that her friend Russell Brand will reunite with his estranged wife Katy Perry.

Mirren, 66, who is close friends with Brand, said she is saddened by the split as it is ‘very hard’ to keep a high-profile marriage together, Daily Express reported.

“It’s very hard to keep things going. Maybe they’ll come back together again later on in life! They’re both very, very successful,” she said.

Brand, 36, filed for divorce from the singer in late December after just 14 months of marriage, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ for the breakdown of the relationship.

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January 18, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles

Hollywood legend Helen Mirren has revealed that she is a huge fan of Glee star Kevin McHale, claiming that she believes he has a fantastic singing voice. Helen recently recording her voice over scenes for her guest spot on Glee and, while she admitted that it is difficult to have a favourite, she does have a soft spot for Kevin McHale and his character Artie.

Mirren explained, “I don’t have a favourite. They’re all great. I love the guy in the wheelchair, actually. They did an episode where he gets up and dances. Did you ever see that? He’s got a great voice. He’s a really good actor and that episode where he suddenly got up and danced, it was so moving. It made me cry. And he’s a great dancer! You know, there’s this great dancer who has to spend his life in the wheelchair.”

Helen Mirren has already recorded her part for Glee, “I’ve done it. It was really fun. I love that show,” she explained. Helen Mirren will next appear on the big screen when she stars in the foreign movie The Door, which is set to be released later this year.

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January 13, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles

The Queen Oscar winner Helen Mirren has topped a poll of fantasy older women, at the age of 66.

According to The Mirror, Mirren was the first choice of the young men (aged 18 to 24) surveyed who voted her as the person they most wanted a ‘Mrs Robinson’ moment with.

Mrs Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft, seduced Dustin Hoffman’s younger character in classic 1960s’ film The Graduate.

Actress Jane Seymour, 60, was voted second, with former Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman, 51, in third.

The list was compiled after JLS singer Marvin Humes, 26, let slip that he has a crush on 52-year-old TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, and she made the list at number six.

Also featured in the Top Ten ‘Fab at over 50′ list are Twiggy and Fern Britton in fourth and fifth place respectively. Tenth place will be a bit of a surprise for some!

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January 11, 2012 by Kirsty • Articles