‘I could never QUIT ACTING!'

Downton Abbey star Dame Penelope Wilton reveals why her family has kept her from trying to break Hollywood

- VICKI POWER

Penelope Wilton is best known to millions as Isobel Crawley, the doughty do-gooder of Downton Abbey.

But the 73-year-old actor is more than that – Dame Penelope, as she became four years ago – has been showered with awards for her theatre work and has starred in many quintessentially British films, like Calendar Girls and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Yet stardom clearly doesn’t sit easily with Penelope, who admits, ‘I don’t want anyone to know too much about me.’

Twice divorced, from actors Daniel Massey and Sir Ian Holm, she has one daughter, Alice Massey, and two grandchildren.

But when it comes to her daughter, Penelope does let her guard down to offer a rare burst of emotion. ‘The best thing that ever happened to me was my daughter, and now the little family she’s given me, too,’ says Penelope. ‘That was very lucky.’

Family life is no doubt one reason Penelope has remained working in the UK rather than try her luck stateside, despite her contemporaries, such as Helen Mirren, Brenda Blethyn, and Maggie Smith, having attained Hollywood success.