Cut away scene [from main show]--Richard Bacon IN FRAME

RB: [hand to ear-piece] Welcome back, live to a London hotel, where this morning, erm, quite nervous, quite excited, because I'm interviewing the queen. Not as in Her Majesty the Queen but Queen Amidala, from the new Star Wars film. Natalie Portman, morning.

WIDER--to reveal Natalie and Richard, at a mock-up breakfast table.

NP: Good morning.

RB: Thank you for meeting me for breakfast.

NP: Well, thank you for coming to breakfast [nervous smile]

RB: It's my pleasure. Now, we're gonna talk about you and your character in the film, but before that we've had quite a lot of the cast of Star Wars on the Big Breakfast during the course of the week and they've all put their characters on our quite complicated family tree here [in the background is--as Richard says--a complicated family tree, with stick-on pictures of the various characters, Natalie gives it a once over, smiles and nods] So here's your character, can you stick that on for us and let's talk about your relationships with the other characters.

NP: Okay [sticks her character on the family tree]

RB: There we go.

NP: There we go.

RB: Now, I know you've seen it and you're a bit confused. I bet you're wondering why you're connected to R2-D2?

NP: [wry] Not at all, I have no idea.

Richard laughs.

NP: And also relationship [points to a blue line, which, according to the key at the bottom of the chart, identifies "relationship"] is very vague, I think.

RB: Well, yeah, 'cause we have Anakin Skywalker here�

NP: --'Cause generally in family trees, the line going down means child.

RB: And you're not a child of Anakin.

NP: Not at all.

RB: Sorry about that.

NP: Not at all. [laughs]

[note: Richard's mumbling is inaudible at this point, something about talking to someone who designed the family tree and--basically--it's nonsense--the family tree that is]

RB: But you do have a relationship with Darth Vader, Anakin, in the later films don't you?

NP: Yeah Anakin, she gets married to Anakin. And then he turns into Darth Vader later and then they split up.

RB: And how do you feel about having a fling with the Dark Side?

NP: I don't, 'cause I have a fling with the Light Side before he turns to the Dark Side.

RB: Ahh . . . I see.

NP: Aha!

Crew can be heard chuckling

RB: And then, those two produce Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

NP: Yeah.

RB: We got that bit right.

NP: Yeah, but still it's very confusing. [points to family tree] It looks like Darth's my brother and he gave birth to them [Luke, Leia].

RB: And R2-D2 is another brother . . . Let's just forget it!

NP: [laughs] Too much!

The crew laugh.

RB: Anyway, we've got a clip of your character in action. Here she is, being very determined.

[insert: SW clip, "I'm going back to Naboo" scene]

RB: So there you are! So your character is a very strong character?

NP: Uh-huh. She's very strong and very smart but she's young, everyone tries to take advantage of her. And she's a little vulnerable.

RB: Now when the first Star Wars film came out n 1977, you weren't even born.

NP: Uh-huh.

RB: But were you aware, when you took the part, of the impact of George Lucas' little sci-fi movie?

NP: I never saw the movies before�

RB: --Really?�

NP: --before I got the part and then watched them finally when I got the role, 'cause I figured I should see them before I decided whether or not to do it. [laughs]

RB: Are you a fan now you've seen them all?

NP: Yeah, they're great, they're fun movies, I'm not obsessed or anything but I really like them.

RB: How do you feel about the impact it is having on your life?

NP: It really, I mean, I expected it to be a lot worse. I thought I wasn't gonna be able to walk around or anything in New York anymore. But I'm fine, I mean I can really go where I want and I haven't had a problem at all.

RB: What was it like working with George Lucas?

NP: He's great, he's calm and a really nice guy. And he worked with us a lot, he worked with me a lot. It was his idea to do different voice and accent and stuff for the movie.

RB: Because of the amount of effects in the film, when you actually came to see it, was it almost unrecognisable?

NP: Yeah, I literally had no idea what it was gonna be like and it was really amazing. I mean you see yourself in a place you've never been, I mean, we literally shot things in a parking lot with a blue sheet behind us and, er, all of a sudden--in the film--it's this magnificent castle with trees and it looks so real and it looks like I'm actually there and it's bizarre 'cause I know I've never been there [laughs]. But I'm seein' it on screen, so it's really a strange feeling.

RB: Were you disappointed not to get to work with a light-sabre?

NP: Yeah, yeah, I can't wait till they have girl-light-sabre fights, that would be awesome.

Richard and the crew laugh.

RB: Have you suggested that to George? For perhaps, the next films?

NP: No, I haven't, but I will. [sarcastically] I promise.

RB: Okay. We looked at the family tree and you develop a romantic interest with Anakin Skywalker. Jake Lloyd is apparently gonna be too young to be in the next film, so there's talk of James Van Der Beek from Dawson's Creek�

NP: [knowing smile] Every . . . [laughs]

RB: --or, or Leonardo Di Caprio, playing this part. Is there anyone you'd quite like to get close to in the next film?

NP: [laughs] No, I don't . . . I think this is all rumours, so far but, erm, I think they'd have to get someone much younger than that 'cause Jake's supposed to be four years younger than I am and clearly those two guys are much older then I am, so I think they're gonna have to find someone new. [coughs]

RB: Right, okay. Now, you're 18, that's right? So far, you've starred in Leon, obviously called The Professional in America, with Jean Reno; fantastic film.

NP: Thank you.

RB: You've starred alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat. You've starred on Broadway. You're a straight-A student [Natalie gives Richard a nervous, half-smile] and you're gonna go to Yale or Harvard. Quite a lot in 18 years! What direction do you want to take?

NP: I just wanna keep everything in balance, because I've really been lucky to have a career, a film career, be in school and have a regular life and have regular friends and all that. I just wanna keep that going on because it's, you know, very, actually, "Star Wars" to have the balance of the force in your life.

Everyone laughs.

NP: It's nice to have a mix of everything, it really makes your life fuller, to have a little bit of everything.

RB: Okay, thank you very much for talking to us on the Big Breakfast. That's it from us here, live with Natalie Portman [Natalie looks nervously at Richard], back to the house!

CUT BACK TO BIG BREAKFAST [main scene]