London, Dec 7 (ANI): Stars in the BBC bonnet drama ‘Cranford’, including Dame Judi Dench, have said that the secret behind the success of their show is no Botox.

The programme features a largely mature female cast including Dench, 74, Imelda Staunton, 53, and Julia McKenzie, 68.

And the ladies’ willingness to embrace their age and shun cosmetic surgery has made the series more believable, they said.

“I don’t think we’d have got the parts if we’d been Botoxed. Or had no lips. It’s interesting that these are women who’ve got history in their faces. You can’t do that if you’re an actress who messes around with your mush,” the Telegraph quoted Staunton, who plays Miss Pole, as saying.

McKenzie echoed her comments, saying: “I think programme-makers have realised that people would like to see characters of their own generation. It’s taken an awfully long while. Here, the younger characters are on the periphery.”

She plays Mrs Forrester, and is also the latest actress to take on the role of Miss Marple on ITV.

In an interview for the Christmas issue of the Radio Times, Dame Judi, who plays Miss Matty Jenkyns, said Cranford represented a shift in bonnet dramas because “it wasn’t lightweight, and it wasn’t particularly soppy. These were hard women.”

The BBC will screen a two-part Cranford special this Christmas. (ANI)