Mary Poppins premiere: Stars come out for new film about magical nanny

The actress, 35, dressed to match the blue carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall. She was joined by co-stars Emily Mortimer, Meryl Streep, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Colin Firth. Blunt replaces Julie Andrews as the nanny in a Thirties setting, more than 50 years after the original film based on the books by PL Travers.

And the London-born star revealed at the premiere that the 83-year-old film legend had given the sequel her seal of approval.

“I think she’s just seen it and she wrote [the director] Rob Marshall the most beautiful email about it and loved it, so that meant a lot to all of us,” she said.

Explaining why she had not rewatched Andrews’ performance, Blunt told the Radio Times: “No one can out-Julie Julie Andrews, and I was worried my instincts would be diluted.

“I knew, just because of how brilliant Julie Andrews was, that I’d made the right choice.”

Blunt, who has two children with American actor husband John Krasinski said her four-year-old daughter Hazel was not happy to see her in costume as the British nanny.

“They just want you to be their mum. It’s weird.

“She’d be like, ‘Take your wig off!'” Earlier yesterday, a stuntwoman dressed as Mary posed on top of the London Eye to promote the film.

Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns is in cinemas on December 21.