It made me Abbey to help improve Downton scripts
Irish actor Allen brought his local knowledge to period drama role
There were times I was like, ‘I don’t think this rings true’
DOWNTON Abbey’s Allen Leech has revealed he asked bosses to change the script in the early days to fix details about Ireland that “didn’t ring true”.
The Dubliner is best-known for playing chauffeur-turned-estate manager Tom Branson in the franchise since it first hit screens a decade ago.
His character was only supposed to be in the first season for three episodes but has gone on to establish himself as a central part of the storyline.
And Leech, 40, said he himself played a part in the finer details of the role.
He told RTE Guide: “That was true in the early seasons, especially when Tom mentioned Ireland.
“There were times that I was like, ‘I don’t think this quite rings true when he is talking about Dublin’, so there were a couple of things that I definitely changed.
“I also changed a name or two. I said, ‘If he’s going to talk about people in Ireland, I don’t think that they’d be called that’.
“In terms of dialogue though, I realised early on that if you trust Julian [Fellowes] even if sometimes it doesn’t feel quite right, it will come around.”
Despite only expecting a short stint in the hit series in 2011, Leech is now a leading character and stars in the second film – Downton Abbey: A New Era.
The Killiney native believes it was his character’s strong Irish views that often challenged the family in the beginning that made the show bosses and fans keep wanting more.
He revealed: “I think that Tom’s character journey and his arc has been governed by other people’s choices.
“When I joined the show, it was literally for three episodes and then Julian brought him back, because he
ALLEN LEECH liked the idea of Tom challenging the social order in the house when he and Lady Sybil got together.
“When Jess Brown Findlay [actress who played Lady Sybil Crawley] chose to not pursue the show anymore, which is fair enough, I thought that would be the end of Tom.
“But Julian thought it would be much more interesting to keep him in there rather than send him back to Ireland.
“Tom became the tour guide for the audience because he himself had no social status.”
Downton Abbey: A New Era reunited the cast for the second time since the series ended in 2015.
It sees the Crawley family embark on a grand journey to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess’ newly-inherited villa.
Allen added: “We keep saying goodbye, thinking it’s the end.
“And then every time we do we seem to come back.
“I do think there is potential for future storylines, but is it going to be our storyline.
“Maybe they will do a time jump and move to our kids. You never know.”