Dame Helen Mirren has said the “strength of the women” is what makes the crime series MobLand so powerful.

The 81-year-old actress reprised her role as the cold and calculating matriarch Maeve Harrigan in Guy Ritchie’s drama which follows a mob family in their high-stakes battle for power to run north London.

The upcoming second series of the Paramount+ show will see the Harrigan family, headed by Pierce Brosnan’s character, the volatile Conrad Harrigan, struggle to show a united front while confronted with rising rivals – with “fixer” Harry Da Souza, played by Tom Hardy, at the centre of the drama.

Speaking during the London premiere, Dame Helen told the Press Association: “It’s the strength of the women that is so powerful to the story.

“They all have agency. They’re in the story. They’re not peripheral to the story.

“They’re not there just to be a pretty face or to explicate things, they’re right in the plot, which is great to see.”

Dame Helen dazzled on the red carpet wearing a shimmering silver sequin long-sleeve gown.

Award-winning filmmaker Ritchie is among the executive producers on the show, which also stars House Of The Dragon’s Paddy Considine and Top Boy actress Jasmine Jobson.

Dame Helen added: “I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for quite honestly, when Pierce and I both agreed to sign up for it, neither of us really knew what we were signing up for at all.

“But we knew it was Guy Ritchie, so we knew that would be fun.

“We knew we’d be with each other, and we knew that would be fun.

“Then we discovered the scripts, and then we discovered the writing of Jeff Butterworth and the whole thing just sort of took off like a jet engine.

“We just sort of jumped in and had fun with it.”

Other cast members include Anson Boon from Pistol, Da Vinci’s Demons actress Lara Pulver and Toby Jones, star of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

MobLand series two will premiere globally on Paramount+ on September 18.