Another Great royal role for Dame Helen

Here’s one for fans of royal drama - Multi-award-winning Helen Mirren will play the lead role in the third commission from Sky and HBO’s high-end global drama partnership.

Catherine the Great is a four-part drama that delves into the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of the most powerful female monarch in history.

Catherine wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century – strong-minded, independent, brilliantly intelligent and sexually liberated, she was the definition of the modern woman.

The mini-series, set to start filming later this year, will follow Catherine towards the end of her reign and her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin.

Amid scandal, intrigue and immense conflict, this is a story of obsessive love.

Unable to publicly marry and famously promiscuous, they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries and together shaping Russia as we know it today.

Helen Mirren said: “I am very excited by the possibility of embodying a woman from history who grabbed and then wielded great power.

“She rewrote the rules of governance by a woman, and succeeded to the extent of having the word Great attached to her name, Catherine the Great.”