Kate Middleton is Bland: BBC's Sandi Toksvig Mocks Duchess of Cambridge as 'Being Very Jane Austen'

BBC radio presenter Sandi Toksvig has slammed Kate Middleton, stating the Duchess of Cambridge has no individuality and no personal opinion. The 54-year-old comedienne, who hosts The News Quiz, compared the 31-year-old royal to high-society women of the 19th century in novels by English author Jane Austen, who were known only for the identity of their spouses.

"Kate Middleton is not enough for me," she told the Observer Magazine, "We used to admire women who got their place in life through marriage and having children, but I like to think we've grown up a bit. I can't think of a single opinion she holds - it's very Jane Austen."

The mother-of three went on to praise former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole for her outspokenness.

"Cheryl Cole is one of the few incredibly famous people who still seems to say what they think. I really like that, plus I do fancy her quite a bit," she added.

Last month, Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel launched a verbal attack on Kate Middleton, branding her "plastic" with "dead eyes" during her lecture for the London Review of Books entitled Undressing Anne Boleyn. However, she later defended her essay saying all her comments were taken completely out of context.

"My lecture and the subsequent essay was actually supportive of the Royal Family and when I used those words about the Duchess of Cambridge, I was describing the perception of her which has been set up in the tabloid press," she said, "My speech ended with a plea to the press and to the media in general. I said 'back off and don't be brutes; don't do to this young woman what you did to Diana'."

"I do think that the Duchess of Cambridge is an intelligent young woman who, if she cares to read my essay, will see that I meant nothing but good to her," she added.