Jessica Brown Findlay shocked by onslaught of grief after Lady Sybil died in Downton Abbey (LONDON EVENING STANDARD)

The death of Lady Sybil in Downton Abbey left actress Jessica Brown Findlay facing an "onslaught" of grief from devastated friends, she revealed.

Jessica, 23, admits she wasn't prepared for the outpouring after her character died from eclampsia during childbirth in the last series.

Speaking to HuffPostUK, Jessica said: "The day Sybil died I was flying out to film in New York. Normally when you land somewhere, you get a couple of messages, but I had an onslaught from people saying, 'You could have warned me.'

"Even my parents knew I was dying, but they didn't know how, so my mum was in bits. My dad had to tell her, 'You can call her on the phone.' "

Despite being part of the successful show, Jessica was "desperate" to hang up her corset in favour of exploring other roles.

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'Downton Abbey' star Jessica Brown Findlay regrets going topless in big screen debut Findlay blames naivety on early topless scene and ‘not knowing I could say no.’ BY RACHEL MARESCA / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Jessica Brown Findlay posing at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in May 2012.
Former "Downton Abbey" star Jessica Brown Findlay regrets flashing her breasts in her first big-screen appearance.

The 23-year-old actress, known for her role as Lady Sybil in the PBS drama, played a character who had an affair with an older man in her first flick, "Albatross," in 2011.

"To be honest, 'Albatross' was naivety and not knowing that I could say no," Findlay told the Radio Times on her nude scene.

"I had no idea what was going to happen and thought I was going to be shot from behind."



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