Carey Mulligan returned to theatre because of the lack of brilliant female roles in film.

The 28-year-old actress is returning to London's West End after a seven-year hiatus to star alongside Bill Nighy in a revival of playwright David Hare's 'Skylight' and she admits it's because she couldn't pass up the chance to take on the lead.

She said: ''There are so few brilliantly written female characters out there and she's such a great opportunity.''

Since her last theatre appearance in 'The Seagull' in 2007, the 'Inside Llewyn Davis' actress has won numerous awards for her roles in films such as 'An Education' and 'Never Let Me Go', but she's confessed the storyline of 'Skylight' persuaded her to return to the stage.

She explained: ''I was drawn to the intimacy of it, and how it was so focused on one conversation and how two people who have history both see the same event.

''The challenge of filling that stage for one and a half hours, going head to head with one actor and of having to find new experiences with the same material night after night and figure out more stuff about it. It's very exciting.''

However, as Mulligan has also been busy working on her new film 'Suffragette' alongside Meryl Streep, she's confessed she hasn't had time to stress over her return to the stage.

She added to Britain's Vogue magazine: ''I've been so wrapped up in the film I haven't really thought about 'Skylight', which is probably a good thing because I haven't been worrying about it.''