STEPPING BACK INTO HER ROLE AS A SOCIETY BEAUTY IN 'SANDITON' SOPHIE WINKLEMAN ON LIFE ON AND OFF SET AND BEING TRANSPORTED TO ANOTHER ERA

'A lot of people assume actors must be great at socialising and making speeches, but I find all of that quite nerve-racking'

- ROSALIND POWELL

There are many elements of ITV's popular costume drama Sanditon that actress Sophie Winkleman enjoyed: the "cast from heaven"; the "brilliant writing"; the "beautiful clothes", and her "glorious" role as the elegant Lady Susan, a society beauty with a mysterious past.

"The writer Justin Young gave me a really layered storyline and a lovely romance in this series," says Sophie as she talks to HELLO! for our exclusive shoot and interview.

"My love interest, Liam Garrigan, was such a delight. We sometimes got the most terrible giggles in the middle of the love scenes and had to reshoot - we were like a pair of eight-year-olds.

"The poor intimacy coach," she adds sheepishly. "When you're our age and you've done a few kissing scenes, you don't want to be insulting and say: 'It's okay, we can do this. But it was very good of the production to give us a coach and they do a very important job especially with the younger actors.

"I'd also made great friends with Rose Williams on the first series so it was lovely to be reunited with her - she is a really brilliant actress and insanely beautiful. I'm very nice to like her!"

Sophie's love interest in real life is husband Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, with whom she has two daughters, nine-year-old Maud and Isabella, seven.

Along with her parents and sister-in-law, Lady Gabriella Kingston, Lord Frederick held the fort at home in London for six months while Sophie was filming in Bristol.

"Freddie says the girls behaved much better without me, which is rather worrying," she says, laughing.

STEPPING BACK IN TIME

Set in the early 19th century, Sanditon is an adaptation of an unfinished Jane Austen novel based in a fictional seaside town. The plot centres on the love life of a young girl mentored by Lady Susan, who is also the King's mistress.