By Bill Brioux - Toronto Sun

Is Canada ready for a former disco queen as governor general?

That's the premise behind Rideau Hall, a six-episode sitcom premiering Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on CBC.

The series stars Cape Breton comedienne Bette MacDonald as Regina Gallant, a one-hit-wonder disco diva who is appointed governor general in an attempt to help kick start a dump-the-monarchy campaign.

Think of her as John Manley's choice.

Instead of revolting her subjects, Gallant's cheetah-print pillows and Boogie Nights behaviour adds some spice to the pseudo-throne.

"I do think the show is very timely," says MacDonald, 42, in Toronto with producer Greg Morris earlier this week.

MacDonald showed some political moxie when asked where she stood on the whole monarchy issue.

"It's not something I've ever focused on," she says. "I still haven't landed on either side." Good answer!

MacDonald, who previously headlined her own sketch series The Bette Show for CBC, says she enjoys sticking with just one character for a change. "Doing sketch is a bag o' fun on stage, but there's something really really nice about playing one character and following it all the way through," she says.

The series was shot in August and September in the same Halifax studio where This Hour Has 22 Minutes is shot. Several members of that crew pitched in, as did Mary Walsh and Cathy Jones with guest appearances on Rideau Hall.

"Mary plays a television executive," says MacDonald. "She probably has a thing or two to say about those."

Series regulars include Jonathan Torrens as Gallant's boneheaded press secretary and Fiona Reid (PR) as her ultra-conservative assistant.

"She's so gracious and lovely, and the more you get to know her, you realize how sick and twisted she really is. There's just no stopping her," says MacDonald.

Morris says the CBC was flooded with e-mails in support of the show when an hour-long pilot sneaked last winter. Among the fans were Myra Freeman, lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, who sent a personal message in support of the show.

"Somebody told us that (Governor General) Adrienne Clarkson saw it and thought we should push it a little further than we took the pilot," says MacDonald. "She wanted to be a little more shocked."

Coming right up, says MacDonald. "We've got the monarchy, government and show business, so there are only about six thousand ideas."

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