Dame Helen Mirren was nearly at the centre of a mortifying foul mouthed slip up on Lorraine when she came perilously close to swearing live on air.
The acting legend joined the famous ITV presenter via video call to discuss her role as Dorothy Bunton in highly anticipated new movie The Duke, which arrives in cinemas this week.
Dame Helen appears in The Duke, all about a 60-year-old taxi driver who steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London, alongside fellow acting great Jim Broadbent, with her role following on from her many famous appearances in the likes of The Queen, Calendar Girls and Prime Suspect.
READ MORE: Dan Walker ambushes Liz Truss with damning photo on BBC Breakfast
Admitting she wasn't actually familiar with the real life story that inspired her new film, Helen told Lorraine: "It somehow escaped me at the time.
"I hadn't read about it. I was busy doing other stuff I guess. So it came as a surprise to me the story and it's such a charming, quintessentially British story."
Lorraie then remarked: "To be doing all of these different roles. To be in this position, it's like you're in your prime."
And it was then that Helen, after waxing lyrical about what a great part Dortothy Bunton was to play, came close to the expletive when she told Lorraine: "I just want to say how wonderfully brilliant the younger actors are who are in it.
"They were so fun to be around and they helped us old.....erm...old people, especially me and Jim, with our accents.
"I nearly said a word you're not allowed to say on British television!"
Stepping in, Lorraine responded: "Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry - it's absolutely fine," as Helen added: "I stopped myself in time!"
She then joked: "I was going to say old farts," as Lorraine told her: "To be honest, you can say whatever you like. Nobody's going to mind. You can say whatever you want."
Helen also spoke of her shock at being the recipient of the Screen Actor's Guild Lifetime Achievement award for 2022, saying: "It's a moment of reflection. It's like 'Do I deserve this? How did I get to here? Was it luck?'
"It's an interesting moment of speculation."
For the latest What's On news, announcements and reviews direct to your inbox, go here to sign up to our free newsletter
