Doncaster's Brian Blessed says The Queen's favourite movie is Flash Gordon

Doncaster acting legend Brian Blessed has claimed The Queen’s favourite film is Flash Gordon – and that she watches it every Christmas.
Brian Blessed says The Queen's favourite movie is Flash Gordon.Brian Blessed says The Queen's favourite movie is Flash Gordon.
Brian Blessed says The Queen's favourite movie is Flash Gordon.

And the booming-voiced TV and film star also says that Her Majesty once asked him to say one of the film’s most famous lines – “Gordon's alive!” for her.

Speaking about the 40th anniversary of the cult sci-fi film, he said the flick is Queen Elizabeth II’s film of choice.

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Blessed told Edith Bowman on Yahoo! Movies: “The Queen, it’s her favourite film. She watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas.”

Assuming her accent, he said: "You know, we watch Flash Gordon all the time, me and the grandchildren. And if you don’t mind, I’ve got the grandchildren here, would you mind saying ‘Gordon’s alive’?”

"Gordon’s alive" is one of the 1980 film's most famous quotes spoken by Blessed's character, Prince Vultan.

Speaking about Flash Gordon’s legacy, he told Bowman: “Everywhere I go, they all want me to say ‘Gordon’s alive!’.

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“The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, horses and queens, and prime ministers, they all want me to say ‘Gordon’s alive!’, it’s their favourite film.”

The son of William Blessed, a miner at Hickleton Main and Hilda Wall, Blessed was born at Montagu Hospital in Mexborough on October 9, 1936 and attended Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, but was forced to leave at the age of 15 after his father suffered an industrial accident.

He started drama training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where his contemporaries included Patrick Stewart, and then found fame as PC “Fancy” Smith in the BBC TV series Z-Cars, between 1962 and 1965.

More TV roles followed in The Avengers, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Doctor Who while on stage he starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats,

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He also appeared as Richard IV in the first series of Blackadder while to younger viewers he is known as the voice of Grampy Rabbit in Peppa Pig.

His booming voice and bushy beard have made him one of Britain’s best loved screen icons.