Maggie Gyllenhaal Wants A Role In Downton Abbey

Maggie Gyllenhaal wants a role in 'Downton Abbey'.

The 'Secretary' actress has revealed she would 'love' a part on the ITV period drama - which also stars Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville - but isn't sure how she would fit into the show's plot.

A friend of the Oscar-nominated actress insists she could play one of the upper class Crawley family's promiscuous cousins.

She told The Sun: ''I love Downton. I would totally love to be in it. But I don't know how I would fit in.

''There is this parlour game where people say who they would be and a friend said she would of course be Lady Mary. She said I would be the cousin who sleeps with everybody! A rich English playgirl!''

Meanwhile, the 36-year-old actress is set to make her television debut in BBC2's eight-part drama 'The Honourable Woman' which airs tonight.

Maggie took on the role of a British baroness who gets caught up in the Israel-Palestine conflict after being blown away by the show's script.

She said: ''I chose this because of the script. I had never read a script with a woman like this.

''I thought I was going to trust it. It is such a scary thing (the Middle East) for most people to talk about that I think people are hungry for ways to sit and think about it.

''I have never been more proud of anything I have ever worked on.''

'The Honourable Woman' airs tonight at 9pm on BBC2.