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Elizabeth McGovern 'over the moon' about Shirley MacLaine

Feb 8, 2012, 11:02 GMT

Elizabeth McGovern

Elizabeth McGovern is thrilled that Shirley MacLaine has joined the cast of 'Downton Abbey'.

The Oscar-winning actress will play Martha Levinson, the mother of Elizabeth's aristocratic character Lady Cora Grantham, and although she hasn't started filming yet she can't wait to meet the screen legend later this month.

Elizabeth said: 'I'm over the moon to see Shirley join us.'

Shirley shouldn't have any trouble fitting in with the rest of the cast as Elizabeth says they are like one big, happy family on set.

She told The Sun newspaper: 'You can't help but all be close, we spend so much time together. We've settled into a comfort zone with each other and now we're starting our third year.'

The 50-year-old actress also promised fans the storylines featured in the ITV1 period drama are better than ever for season three.

Elizabeth added: 'I'm so excited, the storylines are fantastic. One always worries when you're doing a series that you'll get scripts and think 'What am I going to do? This isn't good enough', but I promise you, that hasn't happened. We're in for a really good series.'