(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Dame Helen Mirren has slammed British comedy, saying it is angry and cruel.

The English actress has hit out at her home country, claiming decency and kindness is fast disappearing from society. Helen finds it upsetting that films and TV shows which are meant to make people laugh are often malicious and exaggerated.

She explained she finds French comedy more amusing than British humour, which she believes has become scathing and surreal.

"I'm under the impression that this notion is disappearing from our society, she told Paris Match magazine. Where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the internet and where, in general terms, everybody seems to me to be very angry. This causes me a lot of pain.

"I prefer the finesse of French humour. English humour is harsher, more scathing, more cruel and more surreal too, as illustrated by Monty Python and the TV series Little Britain, where situations are far-fetched and over-the-top."

The 65-year-old Oscar winner went on to reveal she used to daydream about being French and living in an exclusive town on the coast. Helen has felt a connection to the country since she was a teenager and this has remained with her ever since.

I smoked Gitanes to appear cool, and I dreamed of being French. I wanted to be an elegant bourgeoisie or an artist just like Juliette Greco, she explained. "From the age of 15, I desperately wanted to be Brigitte Bardot and to go and live in St Tropez. But I was just a small and plump English girl with spots. Then I had a French boyfriend called Jean-Louis with whom I'm still friends." (C) Cover Media