Brian Blessed has claimed that the Queen revealed to him that her favourite film is Flash Gordon, the 1980 sci-fi in which he stars as Prince Vultan.

Speaking about the film’s 40th anniversary to Edith Bowman on Yahoo Movies, the actor said that whenever he goes, people demand he recite his character’s catchphrase.

“Everywhere I go, they all want me to say ‘Gordon’s alive!’,” said Blessed. “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.”

He continued: “The Queen, it’s her favourite film, she watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas.”

The actor then assumed the Queen’s accent, quoting her as saying: “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’?”

It is unclear when the Queen made the reported disclosure, but she did appoint Blessed an OBE for services to arts and charity in 2016 .

Little is known of her movie tastes, but it has been claimed she is an avid viewer of small-screen shows such as Pointless, The Bill, Downton Abbey and The Crown.

She appeared alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond in a short film played as part of the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics.