Antiques Road Show, starring The Queen, is a real gem

BBC1 viewers could have been forgiven for thinking The Antiques Roadshow had upped its game as they tuned in last night.

A familiar-looking old lady was showing off an expensive family heirloom and waiting for the expert’s verdict.

But no. Turns out the Queen wasn’t having her crown valued in case she ends up having to pay that redecorating bill for Buckingham Palace.

She was simply taking part in a fascinating documentary by any standards, but an absolute treat for anyone who had devoured the first two series of Netflix’s epic royal drama The Crown.

Archive footage of the real thing confirmed how great a job Claire Foy did playing the Queen in the early days of her reign.

The fact that the BBC had persuaded Her Majesty – the Queen, not Miss Foy – to give a rare interview also meant we could have some fun trying to guess who might play her when The Crown reaches series 13. Based on the cheeky glint in her eye, I reckon Brendan O’carroll should throw his hat into the ring. I’d love to see a Mrs Brown/liz Windsor mash-up.

Mrs B would definitely have had some fun with last night’s main subject matter.

It was double-entendre heaven from the minute the narrator promised that the Queen would be revealing “her intimate knowledge of the crown jewels”. Schoolboy sniggers aside, my favourite bit was the news that during the war the royals hid their gems in a biscuit tin in a secret underground tunnel to stop the enemy finding them.

Funnily enough, I adopt a similar policy at home now.

With my biscuits.

PS. TV name of the week had to go to this film’s royal historian, Anna Keay. And yes, she was in the UK.