Getting Downton business

DO they or don’t they? The war is over, the Earl of Grantham faces financial ruin, his American mother-in-law has turned up and the valet, Bates, is banged up in prison. But as Julian Fellowes’ mighty blockbuster series Downton Abbey returns, those aren’t the topics setting tongues wagging.

What we all want to know, indeed demand to know after two cliff-hanging series of their on-off relationship, is whether Matthew and Lady Mary finally make it down the aisle. As Michelle Dockery, whose plays Mary, reminds me: “We’re now engaged if you remember the end of series two.

The wedding plans are under way, but whether bells ring or not, you’ll have to wait and see.”

Dan Stevens, whose Matthew Crawley got down on bended knee to propose at the end of the last series, adds: “The inevitable stress of wedding preparations takes its toll, among other things.”

Cash is a worry, too, with the Earl losing a lot of money on an investment and putting the future of Downton in doubt. An inheritance is heading Matthew’s way, but he doesn’t want to accept it on principle, while his bride-to-be sees the cash as a means to save Downton – and her own inheritance.

Matthew still holds himself responsible for the death of his fiance Lavinia (whom he acquired during one of several break-ups with Lady Mary).

“Matthew staunchly refuses to acknowledge the medical evidence for Lavinia’s death and remains convinced she died of a broken heart. He never quite bought the Spanish flu theory,” says Stevens.

All Lady Mary can see is that his inheritance could save Downton. “She says to him she feels that he’s not on their side. They reach yet another barrier which teases the audience again,” says Dockery.

BARRIERS aside, the pair will talk about how Downton’s success has made them famous in the US and how the series has collected celebrity fans such as Gary Oldman.

“You’re in a country so far from home and where historically in the arts it’s long been a British ambition to break into America. Many have tried and failed, but we can go to New York or Los Angeles and be recognised by most people in our own industry. That’s a huge privilege and great honour. Also to be recognised in drug stores and cafes all over America, which is quite strange,” says Stevens.

Downton Abbey is also big online. “On Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube you can see the hours that people have spent on the show in order to recut the whole series to fit the trailer of Mean Girls,” he adds. They do admit there’s a wedding dress.

Dockery wonders if it will influence fashion as Downton has had an effect on women’s fashion in the past two years. “The fashions for the third series are quite gorgeous and adaptable. I could wear some of them today,” she says.

“The autumn/winter Ralph Lauren collection is influenced by the show and the theme tune was played at the catwalk show. The series does seem to have had an effect on the fashion industry and could do even more so with this new series, because the style is slightly more modern,” Dockery adds.

The men are also making an impact on the fashion scene. They even talk about it in the series.

“The men’s fashions cause the biggest stir with the hugely controversial advent of the dinner jacket replacing white tie. This causes almost as much rupture as the First World War. It’s remarked on by almost everyone in the cast at some point,” say Stevens.

Staying upstairs, the Earl of Grantham has bigger worries than dinner jackets – losing a big chunk of the family fortune on a bad investment.

Times are troubled, says Hugh Bonneville, who plays him. “It’s pretty horrendous to think I’ve put it into my head that I can be a businessman,” he says of his character’s actions.

“But if you think about the end of the industrial era, it’s a bit like the dot.com boom – everyone was making money and it was a sure thing. Then reality kicks in. Things aren’t as certain in the post-war era. You can’t go back to the way it was before and this is just one example.

“The money has gone and we are in really, really dire straits. What makes it even worse is that it wasn’t even my money, it was Cora’s. Really, his whole life has gone. They married originally as a business contract to secure Downton and his own folly means the money has gone.

“Apart from the guilt of having played and lost with her money, it’s his whole reason for living going down the drain, so that hits pretty hard.”

Not an ideal time to fork out for an expensive wedding between Lady Mary and Matthew. Even worse if it doesn’t go ahead after you’ve spent a fortune on preparations.

•  Downton Abbey returns to ITV1, on Sundays at 9pm
•  Next week: Life Downstairs