The Queen kept her iconic 007 skit a secret from the royal family in the run up to the, it has been revealed.
starred with in a comedy sketch that aired during the London Summer Olympics opening ceremony, which saw and parachute into the Olympic stadium.
However, despite the iconic moment having required immense planning, the royal family were kept in the dark about the idea.
Speaking on an episode of , members of the production team behind the opening ceremony revealed the behind-the-scenes planning to host Kirsty Wark.
Production stage manager Sam Hunter said: ‘The Queen never told her family she was doing it.
‘That was one of the stipulations when she agreed to be part of it but she didn’t want them to know.
‘So if you actually see when she comes and she takes her seat, you can see her family go, “Ah, nice one.”‘
It was even recalled that the Queen ‘ran down the corridor’ from her private room in the stadium to watch the stunt through a window live as it happened.
While her family may have been amused, the real reason behind keeping it a secret is less playful.
‘What was hard was that you didn’t really want to say much to the cabinet because you didn’t know how secure they were,’ Olympics opening ceremony executive producer Stephen Daldry said.
He revealed that he ‘didn’t want to say’ that the Queen would be jumping out of a helicopter, because he ‘wasn’t sure that they [the cabinet] would keep their mouth shut.’
‘I think the Queen was amused at the idea, we were quite surprised that she agreed to do the jump,’ Stephen added.
‘But I think they have a tradition of practical jokes and I think for her it was a really good practical joke about the grandchildren not knowing that she was going to do it, and she thought it was going to be very funny for them.’
Recently, Daniel recalled another moment showcasing the Queen’s playful side.
Appearing on , 53, spoke about a witty comment she made, saying: ‘[She is] very funny, wants to crack a joke, and crack a joke about me.
‘We were having our photograph taken, and she just went, “Oh no, he’s the one that doesn’t smile”.’
The admitted he loved ‘rolling around on the floor’ with Her Majesty’s famous pack of pampered corgis.
He said: ‘I was rolling around on the floor with them most of the time. I mean, they’re just there. I think they have their own footmen. They’re very friendly.’
The Reunion is available on BBC Sounds.
