Fancy That!

Fascinating facts about Downton Abbey

Jim Carter,who plays butler Mr Carson, is an amateur magician in his free time

The Queen lovesthe show, and has even pointed out historical inaccuracies from time to time

◆ Highclere Castle in Hampshire, where the show is set, is open to the public in summer and can be rented for weddings.

◆ GILLIAN ANDERSON TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF CORA.

◆ The TV show is set between April 15, 1912, and January 1, 1926.

WOW! DAN STEVENS, WHO PLAYED MATTHEW CRAWLEY, WAS A JUDGE FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE. HE MANAGED TO READ 146 BOOKS BETWEEN TAKES ON THE SET.

◆ It’s the most Emmy-nominated British TV show, with 16 nominations.

Highclere Castle really did operate as a convalescent home for soldiers during the First World War – just as in the TV series

◆ A LOT OF THE COSTUMES ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE 1910S-’20S. THEY COULDN’T BE WASHED SINCE THEY ARE SO DELICATE, AND ACTORS OFTEN COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SMELL.

◆ The kitchen and “downstairs” parts of the show were shot in a London studio because those parts of Highclere have been modernised and are not suitable.

◆ CORA, MARY AND EDITH’S BEDROOMS ARE ACTUALLY ALL THE SAME SET – IT’S JUST REDECORATED EVERY FEW DAYS.

◆ Laura Carmichael (Edith) and Michael C Fox, who plays footman Andy, are a couple in real life. They met on set, although their romance didn’t blossom until after the series had finished.

WOW! EACH EPISODE COST AROUND £1 MILLION TO MAKE.

◆ Highclere Castle is the country seat of the Earl of Carnarvon. The 5th Earl, an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, was with Howard Carter during the discovery of the tomb of boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922.

All the food was real, even if nobody was actually going to eat it!

◆ LAURA CARMICHAEL WAS WORKING AS A DOCTOR’S RECEPTIONIST WHEN SHE GOT THE PART OF EDITH.