MEL GIBSON - GIBSON TO CAUSE MORE CONTROVERSY

MEL GIBSON's forthcoming film about Britain's warrior queen BOUDICCA is guaranteed to cause fury amongst feminists and historians, experts predict.

Folklorists believe Gibson - whose controversial THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST movie sparked uproar among Jewish groups this year (04) - faces widespread criticism in his efforts to bring Boudicca to the big screen, because she remains an enigma to historians.

Scholars are also convinced feminists will attack Gibson if he fails to portray Boudicca as the icon they have turned her into.

Folklorist Dr JULIETTE WOOD, "Take any figure where there's been emotional investment and you're going to annoy someone.

"We know so little about her and yet she has been turned into a meta-historical icon."