Dame Helen Mirren has avoided starring in any Shakespearean plays over the last few years as she is convinced The Bard didn't write enough good roles for older women.

The 67 year old began her acting career with Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and has starred in plays including As You Like It, Henry Vi and MACbeth over the years, and she also took Shakespeare to the big screen in film adaptations of A Midsummer Night's Dream and most recently in 2010's The Tempest.

However, Mirren is adamant she is now struggling to find Shakespeare roles appropriate for her age.

Speaking during a question-and-answer charity event in London in aid of National Youth Theatre, Mirren told the audience, "One of the inequities of Shakespeare is once you get to my age there are few great women's roles. So I have not done Shakespeare for a long time."