The Many Faces of Helen Mirren, BBC2, Saturday, 10.50pm.

STAR PROFILE:

Best knownwn for: Playing the Queen. Early life: Born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff on July 26, 1945, , in Chiswick, London. She e has an older sister and a younger brother. Her father was a member off an aristocratic Russian military family forced to move to the UK by the 1917 Revolution. At six, Mirren decided she wanted to be an actress, but on leaving school went to teacher training college to keep her parents happy. She eventually ditched her studies, and made an immediate impact playing Cleopatra in a 1965 production for the National Youth Theatre. Career: Mirren was snapped-up by the Royal Shakespeare Company and tackled numerous classical parts. She’s continued to appear on stage throughout her career, alongside TV and film roles. Her most famous TV role is Jane Tennison in police drama PrimeSuspect. Her first movie was Herostratus in 1967. More famous parts came in Caligula, TheLongGood Friday, Excalibur, TheMosquitoCoast, CalendarGirls and Elizabeth I. In 2003 she was made a Dame and three years later won an Oscar for TheQueen.She’s also been nominated for The Madness ofKingGeorge, GosfordPark and Hitchcock. Other big-screen outings include StateofPlay, TheLastStation, TheTempest, BrightonRock, Red and the remake of Arthur. Trivia: Mirren claims to love camping, and even went on a trip with her exboyfriend, Liam Neeson, while they were still an item. Quote: “Actors are rogues and vagabonds. Or they ought to be. I can’t stand it when they behave like solicitors from Penge.”