Sophie McShera has been acting professionally since she was 12, when by chance she was sent along with four other girls to London to audition for The Goodbye Girl. She had spent the summer watching the American television show Saved By The Bell, which helped her pull off an American accent for her audition. Before she knew it, she was on stage at The Palladium in London and touring the country. She went on to tour in the title role in a national production of Annie, perform in theater in the West End, and appear in several small roles on British television. In 2013, McShera will be a series regular alongside Russell Tovey (Little Dorrit) in the British sitcom The Job Lot.

McShera admires Daisy, her Downton Abbey character, as much as audiences do. "I love her! She is so open and honest and naïve." Yet, in season 3, McShera describes Daisy as doing "a bit of Patmore-style bossy-booting" when new kitchen maid, Ivy, arrives. While Daisy is frustrated with her lot in season 3, McShera herself couldn't be happier: "As soon as I read the script I had that same feeling, that excitement that I had when I got my first script for the first series in episode 1. And being with [director] Brian Percival again makes us all so happy. You feel like you trust him and you just know this is going to be good. And of course with Julian [Fellowes] scripting, the stories are brilliant. I can't wait for everyone to see what happens."