ALL HAIL THE Queen: Helen Mirren is going to be a guest star in Glee when the new series returns in January.

The Oscar-winning British star will be appearing in the show’s first episode when the third series comes back early next year. It will be shown in the US on 17 Jan and here in Ireland shortly after.

However the star of Prime Suspect and The Queen will be heard and not seen though, according to US site TVOnline.com which broke the news.

She’s going to play the inner voice of one of the characters.

It hasn’t yet been revealed which character she’ll be providing the internal monologue for – Rachel? A new English character? Kurt? – but according to TVOnline, she’s already recorded her part.

TVOnline  quotes  a source who said that the stars of the show had not known that she would be on the show and were “stunned” to meet her.

The source also described her dialogue as “hilarious”.

There’s no word yet on whether it’s going to be a recurring role or a one-off.  Mirren will be following in the footsteps of fellow stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Britney Spears and Neil Patrick Harris, who have all already appeared in the hit tv show.

And speaking of Glee, because it’s nearly Christmas, here’s some festive cheer from the cast: