Joanna Lumley says 'why didn't they tell me?' after Netflix Wednesday blunder

Television icon Joanna Lumley was left saying "why didn't anyone tell me" after being left red-faced over her role in Netflix's Wednesday. The Absolutely Fabulous star plays Hester Frump, Wednesday's glamorous grandmother in the show.

The 79-year-old was handpicked for the role by executive producer Tim Burton. Although Joanna, who worked with the filmmaker on Corpse Bride, admits she has no idea why he wanted her for the job. Speaking to The I paper, she says Tim, 67, "is not hugely communicative" but says he may have thought she would be "perfect" for the role.

Hester was introduced in series two of Wednesday. It comes after a long-running feud with daughter Morticia Addams, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Joanna initially believed the role of Hester had been written for her. It was only after boasting about the casting that she discovered the character appeared in the 1960s.

"I've told everybody, 'Oh, she's completely new. She's been invented for this.' But there was another one - a little old witch or something," Joanna told The I.

She added: "I've never seen it. Nobody ever told me. Why didn't they tell me?"

Wednesday showrunner Miles Millar said the team behind the Netflix smash were "so excited" to bring Joanna into the show. He said the TV legend "nailed every single line" after walking on set.

Speaking to The Mirror, Miles explained: "The idea of bringing Hester, Morticia's mother, into the fold was something we were so excited about. In the first season we introduced Fester, and then this season we thought, 'Let's introduce Grandmama.'

"At the top of our list was Joanna Lumley. Joanna just inhabited this role. And the hair and makeup - she has this extraordinary wig. Colleen Atwood, our incredible costume designer, designed these amazing costumes.

"The first day on set when Joanna walked on, she just was Hester, and she nailed every single line, and it's just so delicious.

"The Wednesday-Hester relationship is unique and different; you see a twinkle in both their eyes when they're together on-screen. I think everyone is going to fall in love with Hester."

Alfred Gough, who co-created Wednesday, says the mother-daughter relationship is a key theme in the second series of the show. Whether that's the relationship between Morticia and Hester or Wednesday and her own mother.

He says the show explores the "similarities and differences between" Hester and Morticia's relationship as well as that between Morticia and Wednesday.

He added: "And of course, Wednesday and Hester get along great. Other than Fester, Grandmama is probably Wednesday's favorite person and the one she feels the most kinship with."

Episodes one to four of Wednesday series two are available to stream on Netflix now. Episodes five to eight will be released on Wednesday.