Dame Helen Mirren has confessed she is a “terrible person” after getting a fellow subway passenger into trouble, weeks after she was spotted displaying flawless subway etiquette.

The Oscar-winning actress used her latest red carpet moment to publicly apologise to a passenger she said was hauled away by “subway police” in New York.

The “nice man” held open a set of carriage doors as the train was about to leave to allow the Hollywood star and her friends to get on, but he was promptly escorted away by the authorities for delaying the train.

Taylor hackford Dame Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren and her husband Taylor Hackford at the theatre gala (Greg Allen/Invision)

Dame Helen made the admission as she walked the red carpet for the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2015 Spring Gala which was held in her honour in New York last night.

She told Sky News: “I was rushing to go to the theatre with my husband and some friends and the subway drew in and I ran ahead and put my hand through the closing doors to keep it open.

“This very nice man jumped up and held the doors open so we could all come in and sit down and then the train sort of got stuck and then the subway police came along and said, ‘who’s responsible for holding the train?’.

Dame Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren (Michael Sohn/AP)

“And this guy said ‘I am’ and they took him away and I’m sitting there, and to this day I want to apologise to him because I should have got up out of my seat there and then and walked off and said ‘he did it for me, it’s my fault’, but we were late for the theatre so I sat there.

“So that’s my horror story against me, I was a terrible person.”

Weeks ago she was pictured travelling alone on the subway and was praised by fans on social media for her “perfect posture” and “riding etiquette”.

Dame Helen is in New York to reprise her West End role as the Queen in The Audience for a new Broadway opening which runs until June.

The gala evening recognised Dame Helen’s artistic achievements, honouring her with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre.