THINGS WILL BE GREAT WHEN YOU’RE DOWNTON
In September 2010, a series launched on ITV that marked the start of a new epoch. Arriving on our screens less than six months after the General Election that saw the end of Labour’s 13 years in office, Downton Abbey was a period drama in which we could marvel at the witty, wise and extremely wealthy inhabitants of a beautiful country house, who treated their servants and staff with a gentle hand.
The series was a phenomenon. Viewing figures were enormous, record breaking. In the wake of the global economic downturn, we turned to Downton for escapism – to see how the other half (and their staff ) once lived.
We voted with our remote controls for a second term and continued to watch, even after dashing young Matthew Crawley (actor Dan Stevens, last seen skewering the Prime Minister on The One Show) was killed off at Christmas.
For six series, as the country was ravaged by austerity, viewers flocked to Downton Abbey. Visitors to Highclere Castle, where it was filmed, did the same.
Why did it work? Creator Julian Fellowes is an expert at character creation. He brought everything he had learnt as someone born into the landed gentry and expensively educated, as a veteran in 2002.
