'Downton Abbey' actress Sophie McShera forgets she can't cook in real life.

Sophie McShera

Sophie McShera

The 30-year-old star - who plays kitchen maid Daisy Robinson in the ITV period drama - has admitted she spends so much time pretending to cook delicious slap up meals on the show that she sometimes forgets she's not actually a skilled chef.

She told BANG Showbiz: "It's hard because we pretend to be so good at cooking that you almost start to believe it so you're like, 'I made that, that looks great', so then it's a bit of a shock that you can't make any of it in real life because you've got someone helping you the whole time."

The 'Cinderella' beauty's co-star Lesley Nicol - who plays head cook Mrs. Pattmore in 'Downton' - confessed she too is rubbish in the kitchen.

She shared: "I keep thinking I ought to be better at it by now and I keep meaning to make a cake ... We don't do anything that you can tell, hopefully. We don't do anything skillfull, ever, so nobody will go, 'Well that's not right is it? She can't do that', because all we're doing is garnishing, wiping, tasting and shouting."

Lesley even turned down 'Celebrity MasterChef' because she was so worried about showing herself up.

She added: "I was asked to do that and I said, 'You have to be good!' You have to have a level of expertise whoever you are. You can't go on as a niffy, naffy, noo noo that can't do it or you'll look an idiot."