It's Ab Fab for me to play a posh baddie

DAME Joanna Lumley says playing nasty people is Absolutely Fabulous, darling. The TV legend may be famous for her charming personality - but she still gets cast as a baddie.

- ED GLEAVE

It happened in the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl classic James And The Giant Peach when she played evil Aunt Spiker, again in Ella Enchanted when she was Aunt Olga and more recently in Netflix smash Fool Me Once as Judith.

After years of these roles, she's convinced it's because she sounds so posh.

But she's got no complaints whatsoever, because she always has a ball being a villain.

She says: "I'm always cast as horrid, sad old grannies and mothers or wizened cruel aunts.

"I don't know what it is because I'm a sunny character. But it's sort of nice. It might be to do with the accent.

"A lot of people find how I speak off-putting. It's quite good because it works towards cruel. Everyone always thinks 'Tory. But if you scratch the surface, I'm actually a communist!" Joanna, who played Patsy Stone in BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, is hoping these types of roles keep on coming for years to come.