Australian superstar Dame Edna Everage has promised to bring taste and decency to Wimbledon when she makes her pantomime debut later this year.

She said: "I'm going to be there as quality control, making sure there's nothing unsavoury and no colourful language."

The veteran performer and chat show host, who has never appeared in panto before, added: "I'm not getting risque - whatever that French word means."

She will be joined by Eastenders actor Sam Attwater and children's TV presenter Anna Williamson for Dick Whittington at the New Wimbledon Theatre. But Dame Edna said there was no doubt who the key figure in the production was. She said: "I call it my pantomime, because that's how history will look at it."

The show is set to run at the Broadway venue from December 9 to January 15.

Dame Edna explained she would normally be in her native Australia over the festive season, but had decided to break the habit of a lifetime to take on the role of the Spirit of London.

She expected Wimbledon's sizeable Aussie community to support her appearance. "Wimbledon is a bit like a downmarket Australia, isn't it?" She joked.

But she said she had taken up the offer because of the chance to appear in front of Wombles in a "respectable" place. And the chat show host promised to become a feature of civic life during the show's run, offering to spend time opening hospitals in the area if needed. She said: "You will see me in the supermarkets and the arcades. You will see me wandering down the snow covered streets."

Dame Edna said there would be no need for rehearsals - despite the role calling for her to take to the skies in a highwire stunt - and she would "just be herself" when on stage.

She said: "People deserve the best in entertainment. I'm at the height of my powers, as my gynaecologist told me this morning."