Julie Walters panicked over Mowlam role

Julie Walters has admitted that she almost turned down the chance to play Mo Mowlam in a new biopic about the late politician's life.

The actress was confirmed for the Channel 4 drama project last June and the one-off programme, titled Mo, is to air on Sunday night.

Mo will tell the story of Mowlam's work in the Labour party, her role in the Northern Ireland peace talks and her battle against cancer.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Walters has now admitted that she initially felt she could not do the role justice because she considers herself to be "a little weed who totters along".

She continued: "Our body shapes were completely at odds. My husband Grant described her as being like a hockey mistress, and, well, that's not me, is it?

"Then there was the way she spoke, in a kind of shrill way, with her mouth a bit puckered and squeaky, and I thought, 'Oh, God! What have I let myself in for?'

"I rang my agent and asked him to get me out of it. He said I was talking rubbish and that once I'd put on her wig and glasses, I'd be fine. And he was right.

DS