Olivia Colman was crowned Queen of the 91st Academy Awards after winning an Oscar for her role in The Favourite, which was largely filmed in Hatfield.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ dark period comedy drama was mostly shot on location at Hatfield House in the spring of 2017.
It gained 10 Oscars nominations in all, but only Peep Show, Hot Fuzz and Broadchurch star Olivia Colman claimed a gold statuette on the night.
Glenn Close was expected to claim the Best Actress prize for The Wife, with Lady Gaga also shortlisted for A Star is Born.
But a shell-shocked Colman beat the bookies’ favourite to the gong in Los Angeles to follow up her successes at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs
• READ MORE: Behind the scenes of filming The Favourite in Hatfield
She became the first British winner of the award since Kate Winslet in 2009 for her portrayal of Queen Anne in the acerbic royal romp filmed in Hatfield House and the estate’s gardens.
An emotional Colman endeared herself to the Hollywood audience with her funny and off-the-cuff acceptance speech.
She said: “Oh, it’s genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious. I got an Oscar!”
Colman described her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz as “the two loveliest women in the world to fall in love with”.
She added: “And to go to work with every day, I mean, you can imagine. It wasn’t a hardship.”
The Oscar winner also told Glenn Close from the stage: “You have been my idol for so long and this is not how I wanted it to be.
“I think you’re amazing and I love you very much.”
• READ MORE: The real story of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the Queen and the ‘Dirty Parlour Maid’
Colman continued: “And any little girl who’s practising their speech on the telly, you never know.
“I used to work as a cleaner and I loved that job. I did spend quite a lot of my time imagining this.”
Colman’s triumph was The Favourite’s only of the night, despite 10 nominations.
Her female co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, both former Oscar winners themselves, lost out to Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk in the Best Supporting Actress category.
The Favourite missed out to Green Book in both the Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture categories.
The movie made in Hatfield was also nominated in the director, costume design, film editing and production design awards.
Robbie Ryan’s stunning cinematography, which captures Hatfield House and the Hertfordshire stately home’s estate in all its glory, was also nominated but lost out to Alfonso Cuaron’s Netflix movie Roma.
A statement from Hatfield House said: “Approximately 85% of the film was shot at Hatfield House and we are delighted with how stunning Hatfield looks in the multiple scenes.”
Oscar winner Olivia Colman’s next big role is as Queen Elizabeth II in the third series of The Crown, scenes of which have been filmed at Knebworth House.
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