What an entrance! Helen Mirren wows in corset as she’s carried on to red carpet

There’s making an entrance and then there’s this! Helen Mirren went all out at the premiere for her new TV series Catherine the Great as she was carried on to the red carpet in an elaborate litter like true royalty.

The Hollywood legend, 74, completely stole the show as she rose above the crowd, carried in the small box by four dressed-up men as she smiled and greeted fans before stepping out in a flourish to reveal her incredible outfit. And she shone out in a very classy look for the occasion.

Wearing a navy textured corset-style blouse, Mirren showed off her figure and coupled it with some retro-style black flares that completely covered her feet. And she added to her regal look with a stunning diamond necklace that fell down her chest and she matched it with some beautiful drop earrings.

The entire performance was the perfect way to kick off the event, with Mirren’s ‘carriers’ keeping sombre expressions as they remained in character throughout. She later dropped the facade however and flashed a huge smile to cameras as she posed with co-star Jason Clarke, who portrays Grigory Potemkin in the series – a military commander and Catherine’s lover.

The new period drama is scheduled to air on Sky Atlantic on October 3 and will follow Catherine’s later years, during her 34-year reign between 1752 until 1796. According to Sky, it “delves into the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of the most powerful female monarch in history”.

Playing royalty comes naturally to Mirren now, as she won her best-actress Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth II in 2006’s The Queen, before reprising her role in 2013’s The Audience. She’s also previously played both Queen Charlotte and Queen Elizabeth I. However, she previously admitted she chose to take on the role of Catherine to try and change people’s perceptions of her.

“History doesn’t like very successful, very powerful women,” Mirren told the Independent. “They have to drag them down, and history tried to drag Catherine down. I hope we are going to reinstate her reputation as the incredible leader that she was.”

While she’s known for her incredible red carpet looks, it was another one entirely that threw Mirren into the spotlight in 2008 – and she recently opened up on THAT bikini photo in an interview with KTLA‘s Sam Rubin. The actress was pictured by a paparazzi photographer on holiday in Italy at the time as she stood up and showed off her incredible figure in a red bikini.

The photos catapulted her to a whole new level of fame as a sex symbol, as women around the world turned to her for inspiration for a healthy body type. However Mirren revealed in the chat that she was trying to look “sexy” at the time for her husband Taylor Hackford.

“So, we were there, swimming a little bit, lying in the sun, and Taylor said, ‘Stand up, I want to take a picture of you’,” she revealed. “So I stood up, and sucked my tummy in because my husband was taking my photo. I tried to suck my cheeks in. I tried to look… good.” Clearly amused by her hesitation to say “good”, Sam then joked: “You were about to say ‘sexy’.” To which Mirren burst out laughing and admitted: “I was, but no!”

“Just as he took the shot, I saw a flash in the hills,” she went on. ‘Taylor said, ‘What’s the matter?’ I said, ‘There’s paparazzi up there!’ He said, ‘No, there isn’t, don’t be ridiculous! How can they be up there, that’s absolutely absurd. You’re paranoid!’ Of course, three days later, that shot came out!”

It comes after Mirren’s nephew Simon addressed the huge reaction to the photos in an interview in 2016, revealing his aunt was offered millions of dollars to become the face of bikini brands and campaigns. Simon said he begged his aunt to take the deal but she repeatedly refused, saying she was embarrassed by the photos.

“I begged her to turn us all into millionaires by marketing bikinis after everyone went wild over her fit bikini body but she said: ‘Absolutely no’. She’s not interested. She won’t brand herself like that,” he told The Times. Helen herself said she was “haunted” by the photos and wished they had never made it into the public eye.

“I think the thing that will haunt me for the rest of my life is that bloody photograph of myself in a bikini,” she said previously. “In and of itself, it is a lie because I don’t actually look like that and I know that that is going to haunt me forever and I’ll be forever trying to bury it unsuccessfully.” Many women around the world applauded the star when the photos first came to light, with some suddenly seeing a woman over 60 as an inspiration for a healthy and fit body type at every age.