The panel of six did a good job of revealing behind-the-scenes secrets. Mrs Patmore - I mean, Lesley Nicol, who plays the cook - spoke of a rancid lobster, which production insisted on putting in the freezer and getting out for the next day's filming.
Mrs Hughes the housekeeper was revolutionary compared to the actress who plays her, Phyllis Logan. Phyllis can't understand this social media stuff - Twitter, Facebook, etc. - but her counterpart happily embraces new technology. A toaster duly turned up in last night's episode, with a frantic Mr Carson the butler rushing to put out the smoke wafting down the servants' corridor.
What is amazing is how these two talented actresses, who one has seen in person at the Festival, play their roles so seamlessly on TV. How could dour Mrs Hughes possibly be anything like the woman I've just seen discussing her role two hours earlier? And Mrs Patmore: Lesley Nicol was as blunt as her cook counterpart but on screen she blended into her servants' team as though she'd been Cook for life!
Of course, all the production's success is down to the hard work and dedication of Downton Abbey's producer, Liz Trubridge. She's the impassioned one who welds the talented actors, Julian Fellowes' dramatic story lines, and the film and production crew's expertise into an amazingly watchable and enjoyable show. There was a hint - just a hint - that Julian Fellowes' ideas for characters and plot are still flowing freely, Liz having spoken to him on the phone only yesterday. Series 4?
Jessica Fellowes IS related to Julian Fellowes (they share a grandfather). She has written these marvellous books to accompany the series. Period detail and social history are very important to the show. With the other panellists, hosted by BBC broadcaster Kirsty Lang, she discussed how Lady Edith has yet to find a niche between her powerful but traditional sister Lady Mary and her powerful but modern sister Lady Sybil. Many women of that era were in the same predicament, war having both killed off all their potential husbands and allowed them to do a man's work. Jessica told us there were 2 million more women than men in the 1921 census. Surely it was time to give women under thirty and non-freeholders the full vote?
Downton Abbey wouldn't be complete without its exquisite costumes. Caroline McCall, the costume designer, told us how sourcing vintage 1920s is more difficult than sourcing Edwardian clothing. She couldn't reveal her sources, in case we all rushed there, but we learnt that the clothes for each scene must be harmoniously blended to avoid clashing colours. Jessica Fellowes said this was true even during the 1920s, when no two people could wear the same green dress.
So, why was Cheltenham Festival hosting a TV event and not a literary one? I think the answer can be found in Julian Fellowes' amazing story-telling. Literature on screen, I say! Secondly, period detail. The audience loves to be taken back to another age and enjoys the authenticity that period detail brings to Downton. Finally, social history. Who has not had an ancestor or two who has worked in service? Downton Abbey brings this past alive for us. Mrs Hughes and Mrs Patmore worked the corridors of Downton just as my maternal grandmother, Mary Shipway, worked those of Longhurst in Northumbria.
