Queen For A Day

There is something of a trend currently for reconstructions of fairly recent controversies and tragedies. From Bloody Sunday and Omagh to TV's The Deal, there's no end to our appetite for real-life drama. Step forward, then, Stephen Frears and Helen Mirren, who are set to tackle a right royal drama, currently going by the imaginative working title The Queen. Dame Mirren will take several steps up the honours ladder by playing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in a film that is set to explore the tense relations between the Palace and Downing Street in the week following Princess Diana's death in 1997. Michael Sheen will play Tony Blair, reprising his role in The Deal, although this is not intended as a sequel per se. Although the film is being made by Channel 4 and is currently slated only for a TV release, Stephen Frears said yesterday that he hopes to get a cinema release. At the very least, expect a clean sweep of TV BAFTA nominations for this next year.