Elisabeth Moss initially turned down her role in 'The Handmaid's Tale

She admitted on 'The Jennifer Hudson Show': "I'm so glad I [took it], obviously. Thank God that worked out the right way.

"I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to make that commitment again, so I actually passed the first time they offered it to me.

"I know, it seems insane now. I'm so glad I've corrected that. Then they came back, and they very nicely offered it again, blah, blah, blah."

Elisabeth candidly admitted she had a change of heart when she was told which actress was going to be offered the role instead, although she didn't reveal who it was.

She added: "Then the thing that clinched it was ... they leaked it to me who they were going to offer it to if I didn't take it, and I was like, 'Over my dead body.'

"It was the thing that made realise that I needed to do it.

"I couldn't stand the idea of anyone else playing that role, you know what I mean? That was the thing that made me realise how badly I wanted to do it."

The programme is due to end after six seasons next week and Elisabeth recently admitted it is "surreal" to be leaving the show behind.

Elisabeth, who has also served as a producer and director on the show, told HELLO! magazine: "It's surreal and emotional, knowing that this is the end; I've loved playing this character.

"It's been a privilege not only to be on this journey as an actor, but also to have been given the chance to direct. It's been a dream job and I'm going to miss everybody so much.

"There were tears, but not so much from me; I was directing, and I'm also an ex ecutive producer, so it didn't feel as though it was the end to me. I still had a lot of work to do. Now it's starting to sink in. It's emotional."

'The Handmaid's Tale' is set in the fictional Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime where fertile women are forced into childbearing slavery, but Elisabeth says that she isn't worried about the show's heavy subject matter.

She explained: "I actually have fun doing it. I don't feel sad, I don't feel angry and I don't feel stressed because of anything my character is going through.

"I don't treat it like therapy; I just have fun. This stuff is like going to Disneyland for me."