A right ROYAL nightmare!

CATHERINE TATE on playing a pampered princess who's sent to rule Australia

- TESS LAMACRAFT

QUEEN OF OZ

NEW FRIDAY, 9.30PM, BBC1

COMEDY (BOX SET, BBC IPLAYER)

On a Wednesday in May, TV Times is tucking into a scrumptious afternoon tea comprising scones with lashings of clotted cream and an array of delicate patisserie as Catherine Tate holds court in London’s stylish Soho Hotel.

The award-winning actor and comedian is telling us about her brand-new sitcom, Queen of Oz, which sees her star as Princess Georgiana, a thoroughly unlikeable member of a fictional British royal family.

‘Georgiana is entitled and deeply unpleasant, which makes her a great character to play,’ smiles Catherine, 53, who is, delightfully, a ball of energy throughout our audience with her. ‘She gets a very rude awakening when she is shipped off to Australia as their newly crowned Queen!’

Here, Catherine, who also cocreated and wrote the six-part series, tells us more and reveals why she’d make a terrible royal…

How did the premise for this comedy come about?

The idea came from Canadian producer Borga Dorter, who got in touch with me and said he wanted to make a show about a minor member of a royal family who gets sent to Canada. I loved the idea and we pitched it to Canadian TV studios but we’re still waiting to hear back… That was four years ago!

We decided it might be better situated in Australia, so that’s how it came to be Queen of Oz and not Queen of Canada!

What kind of person is Princess Georgiana?