Dame Edna returns to the BBC

Dame Edna Everage is returning to British television after a 10-year absence.

Creator Barry Humphries is working on a comedy chat show for BBC1.

It would be the housewife superstar's first regular series since her LWT show ended in 1993.

Dame Edna has recently appeared as a recurring character in Ally McBeal, and hosted a segment of the Queen's jubilee celebration Party At The Palace.

Her new series, provisionally titled ENN, purports to be a half-hour extract from a continual Edna broadcast, MediaGuardian.co.uk reports.

"The show implies Dame Edna has never been off the air. It's just that the BBC has never been able to get her," said a source.

BBC1 controller Lorraine Heggessey reportedly signed a deal with Humphries after seeing Dame Edna's live show in the US.