One of the stars of Downton Abbey said she would “love” to appear in a film version of the show but the cast are still waiting to see the script.

Lesley Nicol, who played the cook, Mrs Patmore, in the ITV drama, said there was a “lot of interest” in a big screen adaptation but creator Julian Fellowes had not revealed his plans for the story.

She said: “Nobody’s signed on because we haven’t got a script yet. There’s a lot of interest from all sides.

Lesley Nicol
Lesley Nicol (Ian West/PA)

“I’d love to do it but we don’t know what we’re talking about yet because we haven’t seen a script. The idea of a Downton film I think is a great one and I think it would make a lot of the Downton fans very happy.

“I’m very fond of the whole experience. It was phenomenal. I treasure it.”

Lesley, who will be a guest at the Britweek gala in Los Angeles on Sunday, said she found it difficult to explain the reasons for Downton Abbey’s huge international success.

The Duchess of Cambridge chats to actresses Sophie McShera and Lesley Nicol during an official visit to the set of Downton Abbey at Ealing Studios in London
The Duchess of Cambridge chats to actresses Sophie McShera and Lesley Nicol during an official visit to the set of Downton Abbey at Ealing Studios in London (Chris Jackson)

“Nobody really knows,” she said. “Julian, who wrote it, certainly doesn’t. I guess it’s good story-telling, I think the cast came together well.

“I think the whole thing gelled. Why that happens and how that happens, it’s hard to say.

“There was a great group of people who cared very much about it.

The stars of Downton Abbey
The stars of Downton Abbey (Charles Sykes/AP)

“Some special fairydust thrown in and it made it the phenomenon nobody saw coming. Julian always says; ‘If I knew what that was, I’d be writing 10 of them.’”

Leslie is set to appear in US television show The Catch, alongside fellow British star John Simm.

Discussing her role in the thriller, she said: “I don’t think they’re saying yet what I’m playing but I would say it’s nothing at all like Mrs Patmore.”