Lily James: How Mamma Mia! released my inner pop star – and restored my confidence in singing

AS RACY Lady Rose in Downton Abbey, actress Lily James oozes self-confidence.

But in an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday’s Magazine today, the star reveals how she had to overcome her fear of singing in public when she auditioned in front of Abba legends Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to secure her role in the upcoming Mamma Mia! sequel.

‘I loved singing as a kid and then I stopped and I would never get up and do karaoke,’ says Lily. ‘I lost my confidence and then suddenly I was forced to embrace it full throttle.’

Recalling the audition process, Lily says: ‘I had to release my inner pop star again.’

The original film in 2008 grossed more than €520m at the box office, so the pressure was on to find the right actress for the lead role in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, according to Benny. ‘Lily is great – I didn’t know she could sing at all,’ says the 71-year-old. ‘She is a solid singer. She has heart and she has timbre.’

But he also admits that he was originally far from excited by the prospect of a sequel.

‘We weren’t that keen on it,’ he says. ‘Why? Because the first one was so good.

‘But then, all of a sudden, after seven or eight years, there was a script. We read it and everyone said, “Yes, we want to do this.”’