Elizabeth McGovern was “so proud” of her husband’s work on ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’.

The 60-year-old actress – who reprises her role as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham in the movie sequel – doesn’t get many opportunities to work with director Simon Curtis, so it was a “privilege” to have him behind the camera on her latest project.

She told Big Issue magazine: “I don’t get many chances to work with Simon so it was a privilege.

“I was nervous because it’s so difficult to come into something that is already up and running, but I was so proud of him.

“It had been years since I’d worked with him and he’s grown so much in confidence and expertise.

“I was really blown away watching him work. It was a really nice thing to be able to experience.”

And Elizabeth was very impressed with the way Simon was able to “imprint his own personality” on such an established saga.

She added: “He has a real history with so many people in the acting community,and has experienced the entire series so intensely through me, so he was well placed to slot right in.

“But he managed something very difficult – he imprinted his own personality on it.

“You can really see his warmth and sense of humour come through in the film.”

Elizabeth is very proud of the relationship the cast have established with one another.

She said: “We’ve all gone through something together and grown up a little bit.

“So there’s a real sense of trust and respect. It’s really nice. Very unusual. I feel so proud of everybody.”