Dame Helen's "Queen" could rule at the Oscars!!

Dame Helen's Queen is up for more film gongs

Last updated at 15:41pm on 4th January 2007

Oscar bound: Dame Helen Mirren has received high acclaim for her role as the Queen

The British charge for Oscar glory won a fresh boost today after The Queen, starring Dame Helen Mirren, was nominated for best picture at a major American awards.

The film, about the fallout within the royal family following the death of Princess Diana, has already secured four Golden Globe nominations and is the subject of feverish pre-Oscars speculation.

Now the Producers Guild of America has nominated it for best film alongside Brad Pitt thriller Babel, Martin Scorsese's mob film The Departed, the Supremes biopic Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine.

There was surprise after Clint Eastwood's films Flags Of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima failed to win a single nomination, as did the critically acclaimed United 93. All three have been tipped for best picture Oscars.

The PGA awards, which will be decided on 20 January, are seen as an early indicator of Oscar success. The ceremony has predicted the eventual Academy Award winner 11 times in 17 years.

There was double glory for Dame Helen after TV drama Elizabeth I, in which she also starred, was shortlisted in the best "long-form" TV category by the PGA.

Other British nominees include BBC drama Bleak House. Medical drama House, starring Hugh Laurie, was nominated for best "episodic" TV.

The US version of The Office was nominated for best episodic TV comedy. Dame Helen was also expected to be nominated for The Queen in the Screen Actors' Guild nominations announced later today.