DAME Helen Mirren is donating her iconic red bikini to raise money to keep Britain’s elderly warm this winter.

The veteran British actress made a splash when she was photographed in the two-piece while on vacation in 2008 and the pictures were published around the world.

Now The Queen star tells UK morning show Daybreak she has handed over her beloved swimsuit to raise cash for Age UK’s Spread the Warmth campaign, which provides thousands of older people with food packages, blankets and heaters.

“I’m saying farewell to it a little bit regretfully but hopefully it will go to someone who will fill it with as much aplomb as maybe I did,” she says.

“It happens to be one of the best bikinis in the world because it fits! The minute I bought it I loved it because it’s so hard to find a bikini that fits if you’ve got bosoms like I have.

“I would love it to raise money for an organisation that I support called Age UK. I love the idea of this little flimsy summer thing going towards helping old people stay warm and comfortable and toasty in the wintertime. Age UK is a wonderful organisation so I’m hoping that they can raise money with it.”

Fans can enter a prize draw to win the bikini by making a donation to Age UK via the Daybreak website.

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December 07, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles

Dame Helen Mirren is to host the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Norway next month, the organisers have announced.

The British actress, star of The Queen and Prime Suspect, will compere a line-up including Evanescence and Glee star Matthew Morrison.

Other British performers will include David Gray and Ellie Goulding, while country duo Sugarland, Jill Scott and the World Youth Choir will also take part.

Dame Helen has won four Baftas, three Golden Globes and four Emmy awards in a career spanning 45 years.

She is currently filming a drama about US music producer Phil Spector with Al Pacino.

The concert will be held in Oslo on December 11, the day after the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, following the tradition of the past 17 years.

This year’s recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, Liberian women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, a democracy activist from Yemen.

Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said: ‘The Nobel Committee is thrilled to welcome Helen Mirren and these acclaimed artists to help us spread the message of peace around the world.

‘It promises to be a truly spectacular evening and we encourage the world to tune in and join us.’

The Nobel Peace Prize has previously been awarded to Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Barack Obama.

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November 21, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles

Dame Helen Mirren has become the latest British star to forfeit her share of a government grant to help elderly people in the U.K. keep warm this winter.

Officials award every citizen over the age of 65 a payment of up to $480 (£300) each year to help offset the high cost of heating during the chilly winter months.

Campaigners launched the Surviving Winter Appeal to encourage wealthy recipients to donate their allowance to poorer pensioners, and veteran actor Sir David Jason recently signed up to the initiative.

Mirren has now also pledged her support to the scheme, as has Absolutely Fabulous star June Whitfield and radio broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan, according to Britain’s The Times.

Wogan says, “This is an excellent way for local people to help some of the most vulnerable older people in their area. I’ll certainly pass my payment on and encourage everybody who can to contribute towards it.”

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November 17, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles

Dame Helen Mirren and Stella Mccartney are among the fashionable stars who are donating their coats to help keep Britain’s elderly warm during winter.

Supermodel Elle MacPherson has also donated a jacket to the Donate A Coat campaign, which will see the items sold in thrift stores to raise money for Age UK.

The charity’s bosses hope the initiative will make winter warmer for the thousands of older people who struggle in the cold months.

MacPherson says, “It’s shocking that so many people are suffering and dying needlessly in winter due to the cold.

“Donating a coat you don’t wear anymore, or even one you love, to Age UK is easy and will make space for that new one you’ve just spotted. It’s the perfect recycle!”

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November 14, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles

Helen will be appearing on the following TV shows in the UK over the next few days. Make sure you tune in!

• Daybreak – Friday 23rd September, 6-9am – ITV1
• The Jonathan Ross Show – Saturday 24th September, 9:30pm, ITV1

We hope to have videos available shortly afterwards.

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September 22, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles

Dame Helen Mirren has backed calls for the creation of a Palestinian state, saying that it was a “necessity”.

The Oscar-winning actress, 66, was speaking at the UK premiere of The Debt, in which she portrays a former Israeli Mossad secret agent.

In response to the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations, Dame Helen said she was in favour of a two-state solution to the conflict.

She said: “I think it’s a necessity that Palestine has a state.

“It’s an absolute necessity certainly for the future of that part of the world.”

Dame Helen also revealed one of the “secrets” to her youthful looks ahead of the premiere in the Curzon Mayfair cinema in central London.

She said: “One of my secrets is that I’m actually not in great shape.

“I just cover it up well, mind over matter to a certain extent.

“I’m not nearly as in good shape as I should be, let’s put it that way.”

The veteran star was decked out in a burgundy Donna Karan dress, Chopard jewellery and Rene Caovilla shoes.

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September 22, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles

Dame Helen Mirren has said the famous photograph of her in a red bikini will “haunt” her for the rest of her life.

The actress was snapped by a photographer on a beach in Italy three years ago on holiday and the pictures went round the world – cementing her reputation as a sex symbol.

The 66-year-old said: “I think the thing that will haunt me for the rest of my life is that bloody photograph of myself in a bikini.

“In and of itself, it is a lie because I don’t actually look like that and I know that that is going to haunt me forever and I’ll be forever trying to bury it unsuccessfully.”

The Oscar-winning actress learned her trade in the theatre before going on to star as detective Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect and in dozens of films.

She was speaking at a press conference in central London for her new film, The Debt, in which she plays a retired Israeli secret agent.

The cast also includes Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds and Jessica Chastain who plays Mirren’s character in a flashback to the cold-war era where she is hunting a Nazi war criminal.

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September 21, 2011 by Kirsty • Articles