QUEEN ELIZABETH

Imelda Staunton (66), the third actress to play the queen after Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, admits she was “terrified” when she was offered the part, but then tried to understand Elizabeth better.

“The thing about the queen is she had a complete lack of ego,” she says.

“There’s no vanity – the only thing important to her was doing her job. Everyone else pours all this adulation onto this person, but she didn’t demand it.

“The queen was in many respects a very good person who had great faith and integrity, and a wee bit of humour.”