Keeley Hawes glad of longer Upstairs Downstairs

Keeley Hawes glad to have the opportunity to "expand" her character in the upcoming episode of 'Upstairs Downstairs'.

The 35-year-old star - who plays Lady Agnes Holland in the BBC period drama, a remake of the 1970s ITV series - is thrilled producers have planned six 60-minute episodes to work with instead of the three that made up last year's series, which aired at Christmas.

She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "It was really nice to have three episodes before but it will be nice to expand all the characters and the give the producers a bit more time to play with."

The 'Ashes to Ashes' star - who is due to start filming 'Upstairs Downstairs' in October - admitted she "loved" playing Lady Agnes in the period drama, which is set to be broadcast next year, and she is "very excited" about starring in the show again.

She added: "It was lovely playing Lady Agnes, I absolutely loved it. I'm very excited about going back and taking the character further. We don't quite know what's going to happen to her."

In between filming the two 'Upstairs Downstairs' series, Keeley has been using the time to have fun with her kids and grow her own produce.

The mother-of-three - who had Myles, 11, with ex-husband Spencer McCallum, and raises Maggie, six, and four-year-old Ralph with current husband Matthew Macfadyen - explained: "I have been enjoying gardening and growing vegetables. It's the right time of the year to be doing that at the moment.

"It's the summer holidays at the moment so I've been making the most of the time by spending it with my children - and I've been getting them ready to start school again."

To celebrate the new trend in instant coffee, Keeley Hawes has partnered with Kenco to launch the Kenco Millicano Trend Report. To find out more about what women are "loving right now", log onto www.facebook.com/kencomillicano.