Rolf Harris to paint the Queen

Queen Elizabeth will sit for a portrait by popular Australian TV presenter Rolf Harris, best known for his high-speed sketches and playing music on an aboriginal didgeridoo.

The BBC said the sitting would be filmed for Harris' "Rolf on Art" programme as part of celebrations to mark the Queen's 80th birthday, which falls next April.

"I want to get the real person rather than the state image and I'd like to make my painting more impressionistic than photographic," Harris said.