Julie: Becoming a Dame left me feeling ‘numb’

JULIE Walters has said winning Baftas and being nominated for Oscars could not compare to the honour of being made a dame.

The Billy Elliot and Harry Potter star, 67, was named Dame Commander of the British Empire by the Queen in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

The honour came almost 35 years after her breakout role in Educating Rita, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.

Julie (above) said: “I thought ‘I wish my parents were here’.

“It was so numbing. The Queen said ‘It’s so marvellous that you’ve got this, I’m so pleased’ and ‘How long have you been doing acting?’

“I said ‘43 years’ and she said ‘In so many different things, well done.’”

Julie added she had been given a day off from shooting the Mamma Mia! sequel – which also stars Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Cher and Amanda Seyfried – to go to the Palace.