Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern has said she has read the script for the forthcoming film and is confident fans will be delighted with it.

The US actress, who played Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham in the hit ITV series, will reprise her role for its big-screen outing.

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We are starting very soon and that’s as much as I know.

“I will get back to you on that, so far it’s so good.”

She added: “I’ve read a script. It’s good, you fans will love it.”

It was finally confirmed that a film of the successful series would be made in July after months of speculation.

The show’s creator, Julian Fellowes, has written the film’s screenplay, and he will also be co-producer.

The period TV drama ended with a Christmas special in 2015 after six series.

McGovern will next be seen starring in the 10th-anniversary production of Yasmina Reza’s play God Of Carnage, opposite Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, at the Theatre Royal Bath.

She is also in the film The Chaperone, which is due for release before the Downton Abbey movie arrives in cinemas.

She said: “It’s the same period but it’s a script that Julian adapted from a book that I brought to him and we both love it.

“It’s about Louise Brooks, who is a famous, iconic movie star, who, as a young girl, travelled from Kansas to New York and she’s accompanied by a middle-aged housewife.

“It’s the story of their journey before she became a big movie star.”