RADIO TIMES – Sophie McShera, who plays dowdy Daisy in Downton Abbey, has undergone quite the transformation as Drisella, one of the nasty stepsisters in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella (out on Friday 27th March).

But while she’s had the chance to go mad in the dressing-up box, her co-star Lily James, Downton’s elegant Lady Rose, has given up her fabulous frocks to take the starring role as put-upon orphan Ella, looking for her Prince Charming.

Lily James (Cinderella)
“It’s such a hoot that Sophie is one of the stepsisters. She is so brilliant and it’s great to see her with a bit of make-up on and wearing fancy dresses, because in Downton she doesn’t exactly get to dress up!

It was daunting to play Cinderella. And at first I did think, “Oh God, can I ever live up to this?” One of the themes of the story is loss and one of the things Ken talked to me about was that if this wasn’t a fairy tale, it could be a really painful, hard-hitting drama about a girl who loses her family and is virtually pushed into slavery.

At the heart of these fairy tales, there’s a message and it’s often about equipping children to deal with pain.

I loved working with Richard [Madden, who played Robb Stark in Game of Thrones]. I know two Richards – there’s the Prince with the lovely accent who looks like an old movie star; and then there’s the bearded, naughty Scottish lad. On-screen chemistry is a funny thing, but what made it work was that we immediately became matey and silly, and it took the pressure off.

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INDEPENDENT.IE – She’s the star of a Disney fairytale blockbuster that’s coined over €200million and counting at the US box office. But Cinderella beauty Lily James claims she’ll always be left in the shade by her Downton Abbey co-stars.

“No one looks twice at me when they’re around and Cinderella has made no difference,” she tells Independent.ie at the film’s London junket in Claridge’s Hotel. “And I know that isn’t going to change.

“I was with a group of us the other week, with Sophie McShera [kitchen maid Daisy] and Laura Carmichael [Lady Edith] and people were going crazy for them. I was largely ignored until they realised I was in Downton too. And I’m delighted by that. It’s the best of both worlds.

“And someone said to me there, will you feel like the biggest star on the Downton set now because of Cinderella? I think we can safely say, nothing is going to change.”

But will the 25 year-old actress, currently dating Doctor Who actor, Matt Smith, be returning to UTV’s smash hit period phenomenon as Lady Rose MacClare?

After the success of Cinderella, James will follow up with BBC’s lavish six part retelling of Tolstoy’s War and Peace before leading an all-star cast including Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey and Bradley Cooper’s model ex Suki Waterhouse in Jane Austen horror spoof, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

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I have updated the gallery with scans from Entertainment (March), Cinemania (April) and Disney Girl (April) magazines featuring Lily and ‘Cinderella’.

I have added high quality scans and outtake of Lily in the March issue of Harrods magazine. Enjoy!

VARIETY – “Downton Abbey” will end after season six, PBS and producer Carnival Films announced Thursday.

Gareth Neame, Carnival’s mmanaging director and executive producer of “Downton Abbey,” said in a statement: “Millions of people around the world have followed the journey of the Crawley family and those who serve them for the last five years. Inevitably, there comes a time when all shows should end, and ‘Downton’ is no exception. We wanted to close the doors of ‘Downton Abbey’ when it felt right and natural for the storylines to come together and when the show was still being enjoyed so much by its fans. We can promise a final season full of all the usual drama and intrigue, but with the added excitement of discovering how and where they all end up.”

“PBS and our member stations have been so proud to be the home of ‘Downton Abbey’ on Masterpiece in the United States,” said Paula Kerger, president and CEO, PBS. “We, like the fans, simply cannot wait to see what will happen to the Crawley family and their beloved staff as this incredible series culminates in Season 6. The series has enjoyed such success over the past five seasons, and we’ll certainly be working alongside Carnival, Masterpiece and PBS member stations to make Season 6 the biggest yet. Until then, Sunday nights on PBS continue to offer fans a full slate of ‘must view’ British and, soon, American historical drama.”

“Downton Abbey” is the top PBS drama of all time, the most popular series in “Masterpiece’s” 44-year history and a consistent ratings winner, with season five averaging 12.9 million viewers over its nine-week run, with over 12.6 million streams of full episodes digitally. The series has earned 51 Emmy nominations to date, winning 11, along with three Golden Globes, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Producers Guild Award, and three BAFTAs.

“‘Downton Abbey’ has been a television executive’s dream come true: a beautifully made, returning series that captures a nation’s attention and becomes a household name. It’s been a game-changer for ‘Masterpiece,’” said “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton. “We are indebted to our U.K. partners for making a show which will go down in television history, not just for its impeccable writing, acting and production values, but most importantly, for its enormously warm-hearted audience appeal.”

Company’s Holly Rains caught up with (the hilarious) Lily James to talk all things Disney, dancing and why you should never take her ice skating…