DID YOU KNOW? Sidse Babett Knudsen

Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen, the star of Borgen (9pm, BBC4), was previously

unfamiliar to most British viewers. Here’s some background information…

She’s friends with actress Sofie Gråbøl It was because of The Killing’s star that Sidse, 44, accepted the role of Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg in Borgen, having always regarded herself as something of a ‘snob’ when it came to television: ‘It was because of her that I even approached the idea.’ She’s hoping to work in Britain as a result of Borgen’s popularity The language won’t be a problem – she’s fluent in English, having learnt it as a child in Africa (where her parents were working), and later studying acting in New York. She paved the way for one of Nicole Kidman’s most controversial roles In 2001, Sidse played Grace in a short test film made by Danish Dogme director Lars von Trier to see if his vision of Dogville would work as a feature. Nicole Kidman took over as Grace, and the result was a critical (if not financial) success. She’s been in an Oscar-nominated film The 2006 drama After The Wedding was directed by Susanne Bier, but was pipped to the Best Foreign Language Film gong by brooding German drama The Lives Of Others. She wants to play for laughs When Borgen is over – the third and final series will show here in 2014 – ‘Really, I’d like to do some comedy.’ She didn’t think we’d like Borgen ‘I never thought it would travel.’