Julie Andrews Liverpool Echo Arena IT is true, Julie Andrews is just like her Mary Poppins character, “practically perfect in every way”.

She can try and shed her squeaky clean image by taking on raunchy love scenes and playing the frightful Gru in Despicable Me but her angelic halo still stands.

Dame Julie entertained fans at Liverpool Echo Arena for one night only as she returned to the city for the first time since she was about 17.

The 78-year-old remains completely grounded despite her success and repeatedly said how lucky she had been. Her modesty was astounding, evident from her story about keeping her Oscar for Mary Poppins in the attic as she did not feel she deserved it.

With her frequent use of “lovely”, “gorgeous”, “joy” and referring to her late husband as “hunny bun”, it is hard not to find her zest and appreciation of life infectious.

Die-hard fans of The Sound of Music were given a few funny insights into filming including how the actress who played Gretal, the youngest Von Trapp child, was unable to swim and Dame Julie swam as fast as she could to rescue the little girl during the famous overturned boat scene.

She told how P L Travers was fearful of Walt Disney’s plans for Mary Poppins on the big screen.

Dame Julie said P L Travers told her “you are far too pretty for Poppins but you’ve got the right nose for it”.

The grandmother of nine spoke fondly of her love for second husband Blake, a film director, who she was married to for 41 years until his death in 2010.

Another of Britain’s television favourites, Aled Jones, of ITV breakfast TV and The Snowman fame, hosted the evening and introduced Dame Julie with a montage of film clips summarising her highlights.

The first half of the evening involved Dame Julie speaking about the highlights of her career and the second half saw Aled pose questions asked by the crowd to Dame Julie.

Despite declining an offer to become a Liverpudlian’s nanny she said she would snap up the chance of appearing in ITV’s Downton Abbey, so watch this space.

Most recently she has been filling her time with co-writing children’s books with her eldest child Emma Walton Hamilton.

More sensitive topics such as losing her four-octave voice, the break-up of her first marriage and publicised uncomfortable moments from her childhood were all avoided.

The evening came to a close with a sing-a-long of Edelweiss. Singing along with Dame Julie was a lifetime highlight for more than a few in the crowd.

Dame Julie was at Liverpool Echo Arena on Tuesday, May 27.

MIRANDA NEWEY