Downton Fabby
Star says cast feel as famous as Beatles after success of show
Downton Abbey star Phyl l is Logan has revealed the success of the show has the cast feeling as adored as The Beatles.
The actress, who plays housekeeper Mrs Hughes in the hit series, claimed none of the show’s stars could have predicted its success when they first started filming in 2010.
Phyllis, 66 , who grew up in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, said: “I wish I could say, ‘ Yes, I predicted the success’, but none of us in a month of Sundays could have foreseen what was around the corner. “We couldn’t have possibly foreseen that i t would become dear to the hearts of so many – including Americans.
“That’s when it all went crazy bonkers and we were all getting treated like we were The Beatles on tour. “When one of my lovely fans showed me her tattoo of my chatelaine, my set of keys, which she’d got tat tooed on her hip, I thought, ‘ Oh gosh. These people are serious’.”
Twelve years and six series on, a new film, Downton Abbey: A New Era, has just been released at cinemas.
Phyllis said the popularity of the show in America, in particular, has left them sharing the same level of fame seen by The Fab Four – Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
The actress, who has also starred in TV shows including Lovejoy and films including Secrets & Lies, said her keys – and the hip chain her character carried them on – were what she loved best about all her Downton Abbey props.
She told Downton Abbey: The Official Podcast: “My keys were my favourite prop. Everyone kept saying, ‘ Did you take your keys?’ But of course I didn’t take my keys – that would be theft, apart from anything else.
“But it’s interesting to talk about my chatelaine. The minute I got that on my side, I always thought, ‘ That’s it – I’m her (Mrs Hughes).’
“There’s obviously the wig and corset and everything else that helped. But I think the first look at me in the first series and the opening titles was just me and my keys walking along the corridor.”