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Victoria Hamilton couldn’t wait to tear off her costume as the Queen Mother when series two of The Crown came to a close. In fact, she took out a lighter and almost torched the sagging bodysuit she wore to play the beloved royal. “It had a tummy and hips built onto it and an arse and tits that were down there,” she groans, gesturing at her stomach.

“Every day I had to climb into that and leave the truck with a large cup of coffee, walking like a farmer with four tits and a grey wig. It was a huge privilege to play, but it is quite nice to play somebody who has two breasts and not four. That’s how I look at my parts now. How many breasts does my character have? If she’s only got two, I’ll consider playing her.”

Having to portray the miserable queen consort while sitting next to the “gorgeous, beautiful and radiant” Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby, who played her daughters Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, only made it worse, she says.

The 48-year-old actor, with her peroxide pixie cut and floral dress, is almost unrecognisable today from her turn in The Crown. As she delivers this anecdote, she reminds me of a guilty child who has just emerged from behind the sofa having chopped off her hair.