MAUREEN Lipman has long since slipped without fuss into that specially roped-off corner of British celebrity marked: “National Treasures.”

Last night, in a Swindon Festival of Literature appearance sponsored by the Swindon Advertiser, she reminded us why she’s been held in such high regard for so many years.

The actress and writer was nominally there to promote Past-It Notes, a collection of her writing that, as she self-effacingly admitted, first saw the light of day a while ago.

However, what she delivered veered from stand-up to theatrical anecdotes with excursions into monologues, politics, the state of modern television and fond reminiscences of her late husband, the great playwright and screenwriter Jack Rosenthal.

There was also a dig at a certain national newspaper which yesterday revealed details of her love life.

She was never less than interesting and frequently drew applause from the packed house.

“I should be an inspiration to any of you who want to write, because I can’t really write at all,” she said.

“I can only talk out loud.”

The reviews and sales figures tell a different story, of course, but Maureen’s modesty came across as genuine and made the audience warm to her even more.

Reflecting on being asked to step in for Joanna Lumley in a performance, she mused that people thought they’d be getting the thinking man’s crumpet but ended up with the drinking man’s bagel.

Her grasp of voices and accents remains as sharp as ever. As most of her fans already know, Maureen does the best Joyce Grenfell since Grenfell herself, but her Prince of Wales isn’t bad and neither is her Spike Milligan.

The anecdotes from the peculiar world of fame drew plenty of laughs, particularly one in which Cherie Blair, visiting Maureen and the rest of the cast of Oklahoma backstage, asked how they managed the American farmbelt accents.

Maureen told her it was easy if you held your mouth in the shape of a letterbox - and immediately wished she hadn’t.

The appearance finished with a brace of short self-penned monologues in which she took the roles of a TV talent show contestant and a trio of actresses at an awards ceremony.

The well observed characters were drawn from a similar well to the ones frequented by the likes of Alan Bennett and perhaps Victoria Wood, and the audience was delighted to hear that plans are being made to record the pieces.