She’s set to be replaced as Princess Margaret by Lesley Manville in seasons five and six of The Crown.
And Helena Bonham Carter admitted she’s ‘so chuffed’ to be handing over the role to the actress, 64, as she spoke with Radio Times about leaving the part on Thursday.
Detailing how she feels to be departing the role, the Sweeney Todd star, 54, who has been nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for the show, said: ‘I feel like I should be handing over a baton, like this race we are all running.
Delighted: Helena Bonham Carter admitted on Thursday that she’s ‘so chuffed’ Lesley Manville will be replacing her as Princess Margaret in The Crown
‘With Lesley, I feel like I should hand the cigarette holder that I used as a baton. Here you are, over to you!
‘She’s going to have a great time with her and I’m so chuffed it’s her and she’s a great actress and she’ll have great fun.’
Helena added that her predecessor Vanessa Kirby had been ‘incredibly enthusiastic’ when she got the part and was ‘generous’ in her advice, so she hoped she could do the same for Lesley.
She went on to claim it was a shame the cast and crew of The Crown were unable to properly bid farewell each other after finishing their two season stint on the show because the COVID-19 crisis meant they had to go into lockdown.
Passing the baton: Helena said she thinks Lesley will have ‘a great time with her’ as ‘she’s a great actress’
Helena has been nominated in the Supporting Actress category at the BAFTA TV Awards for her role, while her co-star Josh O’Connor -who played Prince Charles- has also been nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
The Crown has picked up seven nominations for the newest series which saw Olivia Colman take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II, though she has not been nominated.
Earlier this month it was claimed the fifth series of The Crown reportedly would not be released until 2022.
Doing her part: Helena added that her predecessor Vanessa Kirby had been ‘incredibly enthusiastic’ when she got the part, so she hoped she could do the same for Lesley
Congrats! Lesley will portray Princess Margaret (right in 1966) for the fifth and sixth seasons of The Crown
The premiere has been delayed because producers are said to want a filming break, meaning filming won’t start until June 2021.
Series five will see Imelda Staunton, 64, take over the role as Queen Elizabeth II from Olivia, while Lesley will portray Princess Margaret.
Deadline reports the postponement of filming is not due to the coronavirus pandemic but because of the complexity of studio and set-piece location shoots for the era of the series.
Success: Helena has been nominated in for Best Supporting Actress at the BAFTA TV Awards
A similar break was taken between series two and three of The Crown, which saw Claire Foy, 36, hand over the reins to Olivia.
The fifth instalment is thought to begin in the early nineties and end in the early noughties, with writer Peter Morgan saying Staunton would be ‘taking The Crown into the 21st century’.
There are several poignant moments during the decade, which include the Queen making a speech on her 40th anniversary of her accession in 1992, in which she called the year an ‘annus horriblis’.
In the running: The Crown has picked up seven nominations for the newest series which saw Olivia Colman take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II, though she has not been nominated
Royally good: Imelda is to play the Queen in The Crown’s final two series
She was referring to the breakdown of three of her children’s marriages; Prince Andrew, Princess Anne’s and Prince Charles’ divorce from Princess Diana.
Other noteable events during the time period included a fire at Windsor Castle, her golden wedding anniversary in 1997, and the deaths of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother and the Princess of Wales.
MailOnline contacted Sony Pictures Television for Netflix for comment at the time.
Exciting: Earlier this month, it was announced The Crown will run for six series instead of five