15 Downton Abbey Secrets Revealed

1. The thought for the play play loosely came from creator Julian Fellowes' ain upbringing with a diplomat father. "My parent hadn't been presented, she wasn't a [debutante]," helium explained to Closer of his ain household drama. "My large aunts thought she had 'caught' [my father] and they ne'er changed. They yet tolerated her due to the fact that she had been delivered of 4 steadfast sons, truthful she had done her dynastic duty."

2. Oh, did we notation Fellowes is really a Baron and a subordinate of the House of Lords? 

4. The hardest relation to formed was valet John Bates, with Brendan Coyle ultimately landing the occupation aft much than 60 actors were considered due to the fact that the workplace was not convinced Coyle was the close acceptable for a precise circumstantial reason.

"We thought of Brendan precise aboriginal on," Trevellick explained. "In fact, you could accidental that Julian wrote that portion with Brendan successful caput due to the fact that he'd spot him successful North and South and helium conscionable felt that Brendan was the histrion for the part. We saw Brendan precise aboriginal connected and past determination were immoderate qualms astatine the broadcast end, not due to the fact that they didn't similar Brendan, but due to the fact that he'd been successful a play genre portion that they feared was a spot adjacent and mightiness adjacent beryllium broadcast astatine the aforesaid clip connected an opposing channel...Ultimately, I deliberation we conscionable wore them down."

Six weeks later, they were capable to connection Coyle the part.

5. Downton's archetypal OMG infinitesimal came erstwhile Matthew Crawley, the series' dashing antheral lead, was killed successful the play 3 finale. "There were a batch of precise upset radical demanding apologies," Stevens told Entertainment Weekly of his determination to exit the amusement astatine the extremity of his three-year contract.

As for wherefore helium was acceptable to accidental goodbye to Downton, helium explained, "Doing a long-running TV happening was astonishing connected each sorts of levels. But astatine the moment, it's astir seeing however I tin support myself challenged and entertained."

6. In an interrogation with E! News, Fellowes stressed it was Steven's prime to permission (and not instrumentality for an quality successful play four) that pb to the character's abrupt demise.

Noting that successful America, contracts thin to beryllium longer, "it seemed to them that the accumulation squad had conscionable decided you know," helium continued arsenic helium made a throat-slitting motion. "But successful fact, helium had conscionable gotten to the extremity of his three-year declaration and helium wanted to spell connected and bash antithetic stuff...We conscionable had to marque it work. Some of the letters I got made your hairsbreadth basal connected ends!"

7. But Matthew's devastating decease didn't support distant viewers arsenic the play 4 premiere shattered ratings records, attracting 10.2 cardinal viewers.

8. If Stevens had notified Fellowes sooner of his volition to permission the series, helium said helium would've staged fan-favorite Lady Sybil's exit differently: "I astir apt would person killed them unneurotic successful a car crash."

9. Highclere Castle was the determination for Downton Abbey, with the 17th period property becoming 1 of the astir fashionable tourer destinations successful the U.K. The countryside oasis even became disposable to rent connected Airbnb, with 2 fans spending a nighttime successful the 100,000 square-foot castle up of the series' question representation premiere successful September 2019.

10. But those renters whitethorn person had to woody with a shade arsenic the show's humanities advisor elaborate the fashionable paranormal rumor successful an interrogation with Travel + Leisure.

"I retrieve my relative [Jean Margaret Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon] being ashen achromatic erstwhile I told her what the opening series of the amusement would be," Alastair Bruce explained. "Daisy gets up, gets the full location going and they cleanable earlier the Earl of Grantham comes downstairs. Mrs. Hughes is going astir and the camera focuses successful connected the concatenation astir her waist carrying each the keys, and Jean—she's the Dowager Countess of Carnarvon—she went achromatic due to the fact that determination is simply a shade astatine the location who is simply a erstwhile housekeeper, and you cognize she's astir due to the fact that you tin perceive the keys jangling astatine the extremity of her chain."

11. Though Lady Edith Crawley became her breakout role, Laura Carmichael astir didn't be her audition for the series.

Because she was starring successful a touring accumulation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Carmichael admitted to Tribune News Service, "I thought it was going to beryllium a 'Yes, milord,' a half-day's filming, 1 enactment maybe. But it would beryllium bully to person connected your CV that you'd done telly. And I thought, 'I'm going to person to crook down this imagination Shakespeare for this TV job. What a disaster!'"

12. In 2012, Gillian Anderson revealed she passed on the portion of Cora Crawley, with Elizabeth McGovern yet playing Downton's American heiress-turned-Countess of Grantham.

13. Per Vanity Fair, Queen Elizabeth II was a immense instrumentality of the amusement and would fact-check it for fun. "She loves to prime retired the mistakes," At Home with the Queen writer Brian Hoey claimed to People. Prince William besides admitted to watching the series, according to star Allan Leech.

"I shook his manus and helium really said, 'I'm a large instrumentality of the show, lone present that my wife's had a baby,'" Leech recalled connected Watch What Happens Live successful 2013. "Obviously he's got a batch of down time, truthful [Kate Middleton]'s got him watching this. ‘You're going to ticker it with me!'"

14. Smith, who played Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, admitted to ne'er watching the series.

"I volition look astatine it erstwhile it's each over, maybe, due to the fact that it's frustrating," she told The Telegraph of her reasoning for not viewing her ain work. "I ever spot things that I would similar to bash differently, and deliberation 'why successful the sanction of God did I bash that?'"

15. Because it was a play drama, the pistillate stars often had to deterioration corsets nether their costumes , starring to "real problems," according to main ­costume des­igner ­Susannah ­Buxton.

"It's a nightmare for those mediocre things," she told The Mirror. "They were very, precise uncomfortable. You person to larn to deterioration them, and of people the girls are not utilized to it. They were truthful choky formed ­members couldn't adjacent devour successful them."