Lily James’s pending guilt

Lily James feels guilty if she spends a lot of money.

The former ‘Downton Abbey’ star – who is dating former ‘Doctor Who’ star Matt Smith – is still adjusting to her high earnings as an actress and once took back a £700 handbag because she felt she couldn’t justify its high price tag.

She said: "I find it really hard to spend a lot of money on stuff.

"With my first big paycheque, I bought a Chloe handbag that was £700, but I couldn’t handle it so I took it back."

And the 27-year-old actress can find the attention from fans "overwhelming".

Discussing how she is often asked to sign hundreds of autographs after a performance in ‘Romeo & Juliet’ in London’s West End, she said: "It’s really nice because all you want is for people to enjoy it, but it can be overwhelming."

The ‘Cinderella’ actress has a big group of famous friends, including Billie Piper, Douglas Booth and Freddie Fox, but she often prefers spending time in her own company.

She admitted: "I can be quite a solitary person and I need to be alone quite a lot. Or [alone] with Matt."

Lily’s beloved father James died when she was at university, but the actress – whose real surname is Thompson – used to share a strong "spiritual" connection to her dad and they would visit a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery together.

She told Britain’s ELLE magazine: "My dad was very spiritual and I went with him a couple of times to the Kaygu Samye Ling in Scotland.

"I was really into [Buddhist] ideas and that sense of spirituality, and it was a strong connection I had with my father."