Downton Abbey star MyAnna Buring was horrified by her role

Downton Abbey star MyAnna Buring says she was shocked by the real-life tales behind her latest role.

MyAnna was scheming maid Edna in ITV’s period drama and has rolled back the clock again as one of the stars of Banished.

The BBC2 drama tells the grim tale of convicts transported to 18th Century Australian penal colonies. And MyAnna, who plays cockney Elizabeth, says it was the grimmest of times.

“It must have been horrific being a woman in the first penal colony,” she confides.

“At best your body could be a bartering tool, at worst you could be a victim of rape or sexual assault. The idea you had any right to do as you wished with your body was laughable.

“I remember reading accounts of cases that were brought in front of the Governor and a lot of them were accusations of rape. That must have been awful.”

And as the 35-year-old Swedish-born actress looked into the pioneering penal colonies she found it shocking as to what constituted a crime at the time.

“During research for this it was quite heartbreaking to see the offences that people were banished for or even sent to the gallows for.

“The question a lot of the convicts were asked on the gallows was, ‘Do you want to die now or being taken on a ship for nine months to a part of the world you’ve never heard of?’”

This week sees some happiness as Elizabeth marries Tommy. MyAnna is well used to stepping in to the past for her screen appearances.

A well as Downton she was a regular as a brothel madam in the BBC’s gritty Ripper Street.

And she’s currently doubling up with a big as well as small screen role, with a part in new crime movie Hyena.