The Queen’s favourite TV programme is said to be ‘The Kumars at No. 42’.
Former BBC Radio 2 editor Phil Jones has claimed the British monarch told him she’s a fan of the BBC comedy series, where an Asian chat show host (Sanjeev Bhaskar) broadcasts from his family home while his relatives constantly interrupt, when they met at Buckingham Palace in 2001.
What’s more, the journalist, who has kept the tale a secret for 21 years due to protocol, claimed Her Majesty even proceeded to deliver some of the one-liners by Meera Syal’s grandmother alter ego, Ummi.
Phil wrote in a recent article for The New Statesman: “Well, I’ve kept this exclusive story secret for 21 years after I was told by a BBC executive that, on pain of death, journalists should never reveal their conversations with the monarch.
“In 2001 I was invited to a media function at Buckingham Palace. The first thing the Queen said was how much she loved Terry Wogan. No surprise there. We all knew the Queen was a Radio 2 listener. We chatted for ages, which I can tell you is rather surreal. My brain kept saying, ‘Bloody hell I’m talking to the Queen and I can’t think of a single thing to say!’
In the end I alighted on, ‘What’s your favourite programme?’ Straightaway, she said, ‘The Kumars at No 42’ and, even more astonishingly, proceeded to recite some of the one-liners from the grandma character, played by the brilliant Meera Syal.”
It was previously claimed the 95-year-old royal is a fan of period drama ‘Downton Abbey’ and UK soap opera ‘Coronation Street’, while she has even been rumoured to have watched Netflix show ‘The Crown’, which depicts the history of her life and that of the British royal family.
