15 Downton Abbey Secrets Revealed

1. The thought for nan play play loosely came from creator Julian Fellowes' ain upbringing pinch a diplomat father. "My mother hadn't been presented, she wasn't a [debutante]," he explained to Closer of his ain family drama. "My awesome aunts thought she had 'caught' [my father] and they ne'er changed. They yet tolerated her because she had been delivered of 4 patient sons, truthful she had done her dynastic duty."

2. Oh, did we mention Fellowes is really a Baron and a personnel of nan House of Lords? 

4. The hardest domiciled to formed was valet John Bates, pinch Brendan Coyle ultimately landing nan occupation aft much than 60 actors were considered because nan workplace was not convinced Coyle was nan correct fresh for a very circumstantial reason.

"We thought of Brendan very early on," Trevellick explained. "In fact, you could opportunity that Julian wrote that portion pinch Brendan successful mind because he'd spot him successful North and South and he conscionable felt that Brendan was nan character for nan part. We saw Brendan very early connected and past location were immoderate qualms astatine nan broadcast end, not because they didn't for illustration Brendan, but because he'd been successful a play genre portion that they feared was a spot adjacent and mightiness moreover beryllium broadcast astatine nan aforesaid clip connected an opposing channel...Ultimately, I deliberation we conscionable wore them down."

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

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

As for why he was fresh to opportunity goodbye to Downton, he explained, "Doing a long-running TV point was astonishing connected each sorts of levels. But astatine nan moment, it's astir seeing really I tin support myself challenged and entertained."

6. In an question and reply pinch E! News, Fellowes stressed it was Steven's prime to time off (and not return for an quality successful play four) that lead to nan character's abrupt demise.

Noting that successful America, contracts thin to beryllium longer, "it seemed to them that nan accumulation squad had conscionable decided you know," he continued arsenic he made a throat-slitting motion. "But successful fact, he had conscionable gotten to nan extremity of his three-year statement and he wanted to spell connected and do different stuff...We conscionable had to make it work. Some of nan letters I sewage made your hairsbreadth guidelines connected ends!"

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

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

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

10. But those renters whitethorn person had to woody pinch a shade arsenic nan show's humanities advisor elaborate nan celebrated paranormal rumor successful an question and reply pinch Travel + Leisure.

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

11. Though Lady Edith Crawley became her breakout role, Laura Carmichael almost didn't be her audition for nan 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 statement 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 move down this dream Shakespeare for this TV job. What a disaster!'"

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

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

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

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

"I will look astatine it erstwhile it's each over, maybe, because it's frustrating," she told The Telegraph of her reasoning for not viewing her ain work. "I ever spot things that I would for illustration to do differently, and deliberation 'why successful nan sanction of God did I do that?'"

15. Because it was a play drama, nan female 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, very uncomfortable. You person to study to deterioration them, and of people nan girls are not utilized to it. They were truthful tight formed ­members couldn't moreover eat successful them."