Mum's the word for Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter has revealed how her Dark Shadows character was partly inspired by her mother.

The two-time Oscar nominee plays kooky psychiatrist Dr Julia Hoffman in Tim Burton's big-screen adaptation of the cult 60s TV series, which also stars Johnny Depp, Eva Green and Michelle Pfeiffer.

"It's all a magpie, you tend to take from people. There's a bit of Bette Davis in there, a bit of Dorothea Parks, lots of people. My mum's a therapist - I didn't base it too much on her but she is a psychotherapist, so that was kind of useful," she said.

Helena, who based her Alice In Wonderland's Red Queen alter-ego on her four-year-old daughter, joked that her mum wouldn't find it an insult.

"I don't know, she hasn't seen it. My mum is deeply professional and Julia unfortunately transgresses certain professional boundaries. My mother wouldn't go there!" she added.

Dark Shadows marks the seventh collaboration between Helena and her real-life partner, Tim.

"I thought he might offer me the part of the sexy witch, until he said he saw me as Dr Hoffman, which was interesting. But it's a great part and her look is hilarious, with the bright orange hair and those ridiculous eyelashes. I genuinely loved the character so how could I not say yes?" she said.

The actress added: "Our relationship is getting better and better actually. We get more laughs. When we started off, we didn't get many compliments and now it's good fun, really good."

:: Dark Shadows is in cinemas now.