Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.

For years, I was often afraid to speak up when I didn't fully understand a script. I'd tie myself in knots.

I love discovering tiny streets.

'Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.

I really enjoy singing, it's entirely different to acting because I'm just being myself.

I don't mind wearing a corset; it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.

Being in the same scenes as Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine is something I will never forget.