Dame Julie Andrews has given her blessing to actress Emily Blunt to play nanny Mary Poppins in the upcoming reboot.

Dame Julie made the role famous in the 1964 Disney film and even won a best actress Oscar for her performance so Emily said there was natural “trepidation” about stepping into her shoes.

Actress Emily Blunt will reprise the character of Mary Poppins (Clint Spaulding/AP)

However, the 33-year-old actress revealed she was relieved to find Dame Julie, 80, was delighted with her casting for director Rob Marshall’s Mary Poppins Returns.

She told Entertainment Weekly: “Rob said he was in the Hamptons, and he saw (Julie), and he said, ‘It’s top secret, but Emily Blunt’s playing Mary Poppins’.

“And she went, ‘Oh, wonderful!’.

“I felt like I wanted to cry. It was lovely to get her stamp of approval. That took the edge off it, for sure.”

Dame Julie starred as the eponymous nanny in the 1964 film (KPA/PA)

Emily said her Poppins was “a little meaner” than Dame Julie’s as it’s based a lot more on PL Travers’ original books.

She said: “I feel a little more trepidation with this (character) because she’s so emblematic of people’s nostalgia. It’s such an important character in people’s childhood.”

Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda will also star and Meryl Streep is reportedly in talks for the musical film.

Mary Poppins Returns is slated for a December 2018 release.