Downton's Michelle Dockery on her new TV role: “There are some parallels" with Lady Mary

"Downton was coming to an end and this script came to me and I fell in love with the character and the story," said Dockery.

“I was very fortunate that something so different from what I had been doing the last six years came my way," she told Deadline, before admitting that there are nevertheless some similarities between Letty and the role which made her famous: Downton's Lady Mary.

“I’ve had the opportunity to play two very strong female characters and there are some parallels," she continued. "It’s just a very different period; one happens to be in the 20’s and the other is modern day. Letty is an extraordinary character, colourful, and raw, and fascinating to play, and I’m loving every minute of it. I hope it continues.”

Like Lady Mary, it sounds as if her new role has the potential to rub fellow characters up the wrong way, but Dockery added: "I don’t think they need to be likeable to like them. Some of the best characters don’t always behave well.”

“Letty finds it hard to exist as other people do. She gets bored easily and the dressing up part of it, and becoming another character, is the high, fooling people.”

Now we think about it, we can totally see Lady Mary masquerading as a con artist. She was certainly caught up in enough deceptions, manipulations and blackmail scandals during the six seasons of Downton Abbey.

Remember that episode where she got Bates to forge someone's handwriting so she could sneak into their apartment? Case closed.