Behind the scenes at Downton Abbey
Bananagrams. The cast of Downton Abbey cannot stop talking about Bananagrams.
Apparently, this word game – a sort of derivative of Scrabble – kept the cast and crew entertained for hours on long filming days. ‘I’ve become really very good at it,’ beams actress Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith, ‘to the point where no one ever wants to play with me. Shirley MacLaine thought we were mad, playing Scrabble like it was going out of fashion.’
No one can have missed the fact that the fourth series of Downton Abbey returned to our screens last weekend, to huge acclaim (the keen-eared will have heard The Lady mentioned in the fi rst few minutes).
For the next couple of months, the favourite series will once again transport its worldwide viewers to the dignifi ed yet dramatic life of upstairs/ downstairs Britain. Despite the series opening in a mood of mourning, writer and creator Julian Fellowes has promised that this one will be more jovial than the last (there are, he assures us, to be no further deaths this season).
Chatting to the cast ahead of the broadcast of the first episode, it is evident that a significant part of the show’s success is the fact that the actors and actresses are as much a fan of Downton world as their audience. Laura Carmichael is relishing her part more than ever: ‘Being a lady is so much of this character. The confidence – the being in a room and knowing that you’re very important – that’s an incredible position to be in and great fun to play.’
Four series in, she is also enjoying the opportunity to develop her character. ‘I love how Lady Edith has changed from being this grumpy middle child to a professional woman. I don’t think any of us would have predicted that from the fi rst series, but it hasn’t ever felt jarring. It’s been a really beautiful journey to go on.’
Lady Edith becomes more immersed in the glamour of the Roaring Twenties; in the last series she went to London to visit The Lady offices, and the opening episode of this one saw her dining at The Criterion. ‘Oh that was really fun. All these lovely locations – it almost felt like a diff erent job because I wasn’t at Highclere Castle so much. I loved it.’
Actress Lily James is equally enthusiastic. She was in a cafe when she found out the part of Lady Rose would be returning for the new series: ‘I somehow managed to spill my drink I was so excited,’ she smiles.
From left: Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary, Lily James as Lady Rose and Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith
‘At first, it was scary to be joining a show that is so brilliant and wonderful and that everyone loves. But within the fi rst episode, I began to feel a part of it. Everyone is so generous and warm.’
Twenty-four-year-old Lily has particularly valued the friendship of Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without her. We went to the same drama school and she has been giving me lots of help and advice. She is great at keeping a sense of humour about it all.’
As one of the original cast members alongside Dame Maggie Smith (who plays the Dowager Countess of Grantham), Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham), and Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Grantham), Michelle Dockery has become a big star, both here and across the Atlantic.
But she still savours the days on set and the company of cast members old and new. ‘It’s been great having new actors coming into the show,’ she says. ‘I can imagine it is quite daunting so we make sure we give them a very good welcome.’
Of course, among the new members are one-year-old identical twins Logan and Cole Weston, who share the part of Lady Mary’s son George. ‘It’s hard not to be broody with those two around,’ she laughs. ‘They are absolutely gorgeous.’
Actor Allen Leech, who plays widower Tom Branson, has also enjoyed having children on set. His daughter is played by toddler Ava Mann. ‘She’s an incredible little girl,’ he says, ‘and quite the professional. She’s not even two, and yet she saunters in and does it all on cue.’
Filming took place over seven months, and by the end Ava felt quite at home. ‘It was a lot harder to control her, and stop her from picking her nose or pulling my ears,’ he laughs.
Like Michelle, Allen has been with the show since the beginning, and still can’t believe his luck. Nor, he reveals, can his mother: ‘My mum has always been a period fan, so she kind of won the lottery when I got the part in this.’
The fourth series sees an influx of new, handsome men, both upstairs and down. ‘I’m livid about it,’ jokes this handsome Irishman, ‘I wish I could have vetted them beforehand.’
Allen says he does occasionally get recognised, though it’s mostly ‘old couples on the Tube who see me and elbow each other’, but other than that, his life has remained relatively unchanged during his years in the series.
The new generation: Lady Mary's son George and Tom Branson's Sybbie, may steal the show
‘Everything is the same – I still go to the same local pubs. I live with four other Irish lads in a big Georgian house. None of them are in the business, and believe me they wouldn’t let me become a diva, even if I tried.’
What has changed, however, is his rapport with his fellow actors. ‘I’ll be honest, initially, I was terrified of Dame Maggie Smith. I had my first scenes with her in series three, along with Shirley MacLaine, and she was a bit intimidating, but I’ve since got to know her and she is genuinely such a lovely woman. And she is funnier than the Dowager Countess – her quips to us as a cast are hilarious.’
Allen goes on to give an example. ‘At one point during filming, I had shin splints and an infected leg. Maggie just looked at me and announced,’ he says, raising himself up and impersonating her enunciation: “Between all of this, we ought to rub you out and start again.’’ ‘She is absolutely brilliant.’
His admiration is shared by Lily James. ‘I think Dame Maggie is one of the greatest actresses ever. To be with her on set, watching her, is a gift for any young actress.’
In fact, is seems that just as audiences enjoy their fictional counterparts, the actors and actresses of Downton delight in each other. ‘When we’re not playing Bananagrams, we just sit on pop-up chairs in a circle and time flies because we’re gossiping,’ adds Laura Carmichael.
‘When you’re working with people like Maggie Smith, Jim Carter and Hugh Bonneville, they’ve got a lot of stories to tell. We just sit and giggle all day long.’
Downton Abbey is broadcast on ITV on Sundays at 9pm.
Apparently, this word game – a sort of derivative of Scrabble – kept the cast and crew entertained for hours on long filming days. ‘I’ve become really very good at it,’ beams actress Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith, ‘to the point where no one ever wants to play with me. Shirley MacLaine thought we were mad, playing Scrabble like it was going out of fashion.’
No one can have missed the fact that the fourth series of Downton Abbey returned to our screens last weekend, to huge acclaim (the keen-eared will have heard The Lady mentioned in the fi rst few minutes).
For the next couple of months, the favourite series will once again transport its worldwide viewers to the dignifi ed yet dramatic life of upstairs/ downstairs Britain. Despite the series opening in a mood of mourning, writer and creator Julian Fellowes has promised that this one will be more jovial than the last (there are, he assures us, to be no further deaths this season).
Chatting to the cast ahead of the broadcast of the first episode, it is evident that a significant part of the show’s success is the fact that the actors and actresses are as much a fan of Downton world as their audience. Laura Carmichael is relishing her part more than ever: ‘Being a lady is so much of this character. The confidence – the being in a room and knowing that you’re very important – that’s an incredible position to be in and great fun to play.’
Four series in, she is also enjoying the opportunity to develop her character. ‘I love how Lady Edith has changed from being this grumpy middle child to a professional woman. I don’t think any of us would have predicted that from the fi rst series, but it hasn’t ever felt jarring. It’s been a really beautiful journey to go on.’
Lady Edith becomes more immersed in the glamour of the Roaring Twenties; in the last series she went to London to visit The Lady offices, and the opening episode of this one saw her dining at The Criterion. ‘Oh that was really fun. All these lovely locations – it almost felt like a diff erent job because I wasn’t at Highclere Castle so much. I loved it.’
Actress Lily James is equally enthusiastic. She was in a cafe when she found out the part of Lady Rose would be returning for the new series: ‘I somehow managed to spill my drink I was so excited,’ she smiles.
From left: Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary, Lily James as Lady Rose and Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith‘At first, it was scary to be joining a show that is so brilliant and wonderful and that everyone loves. But within the fi rst episode, I began to feel a part of it. Everyone is so generous and warm.’
Twenty-four-year-old Lily has particularly valued the friendship of Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without her. We went to the same drama school and she has been giving me lots of help and advice. She is great at keeping a sense of humour about it all.’
As one of the original cast members alongside Dame Maggie Smith (who plays the Dowager Countess of Grantham), Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham), and Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Grantham), Michelle Dockery has become a big star, both here and across the Atlantic.
But she still savours the days on set and the company of cast members old and new. ‘It’s been great having new actors coming into the show,’ she says. ‘I can imagine it is quite daunting so we make sure we give them a very good welcome.’
Of course, among the new members are one-year-old identical twins Logan and Cole Weston, who share the part of Lady Mary’s son George. ‘It’s hard not to be broody with those two around,’ she laughs. ‘They are absolutely gorgeous.’
Actor Allen Leech, who plays widower Tom Branson, has also enjoyed having children on set. His daughter is played by toddler Ava Mann. ‘She’s an incredible little girl,’ he says, ‘and quite the professional. She’s not even two, and yet she saunters in and does it all on cue.’
Filming took place over seven months, and by the end Ava felt quite at home. ‘It was a lot harder to control her, and stop her from picking her nose or pulling my ears,’ he laughs.
Like Michelle, Allen has been with the show since the beginning, and still can’t believe his luck. Nor, he reveals, can his mother: ‘My mum has always been a period fan, so she kind of won the lottery when I got the part in this.’
The fourth series sees an influx of new, handsome men, both upstairs and down. ‘I’m livid about it,’ jokes this handsome Irishman, ‘I wish I could have vetted them beforehand.’
Allen says he does occasionally get recognised, though it’s mostly ‘old couples on the Tube who see me and elbow each other’, but other than that, his life has remained relatively unchanged during his years in the series.
The new generation: Lady Mary's son George and Tom Branson's Sybbie, may steal the show‘Everything is the same – I still go to the same local pubs. I live with four other Irish lads in a big Georgian house. None of them are in the business, and believe me they wouldn’t let me become a diva, even if I tried.’
What has changed, however, is his rapport with his fellow actors. ‘I’ll be honest, initially, I was terrified of Dame Maggie Smith. I had my first scenes with her in series three, along with Shirley MacLaine, and she was a bit intimidating, but I’ve since got to know her and she is genuinely such a lovely woman. And she is funnier than the Dowager Countess – her quips to us as a cast are hilarious.’
Allen goes on to give an example. ‘At one point during filming, I had shin splints and an infected leg. Maggie just looked at me and announced,’ he says, raising himself up and impersonating her enunciation: “Between all of this, we ought to rub you out and start again.’’ ‘She is absolutely brilliant.’
His admiration is shared by Lily James. ‘I think Dame Maggie is one of the greatest actresses ever. To be with her on set, watching her, is a gift for any young actress.’
In fact, is seems that just as audiences enjoy their fictional counterparts, the actors and actresses of Downton delight in each other. ‘When we’re not playing Bananagrams, we just sit on pop-up chairs in a circle and time flies because we’re gossiping,’ adds Laura Carmichael.
‘When you’re working with people like Maggie Smith, Jim Carter and Hugh Bonneville, they’ve got a lot of stories to tell. We just sit and giggle all day long.’
Downton Abbey is broadcast on ITV on Sundays at 9pm.