Downton Abbey star on fans kinky ways of showing how much they love characters

Having played Mrs Hughes for all six series, Phyllis Logan is bringing the prim and proper housekeeper (who married butler Carson at the end of the TV show) to the big screen in the new Downton movie.

The actress, 63, is married to Pirates Of The Carribean star Kevin McNally (he was in Downton as Horace Bryant, but isn’t in the film) and they have a 23-year-old son, David.

She talks kinky fans, the plus side to only having two costumes, and being lazy…

How did you keep a secret as big as the Downton movie?

It seemed quite straightforward really.

We knew we would be doing it and were told not to say anything to anyone.

We’d give people teasers, telling television shows that ‘you never know’ but we never gave it away.

Then we were told it would be announced on a certain date so we had a time frame to focus on, but after a while people stopped asking.

That was handy.

Tell us a bit about the story…

We’ve bypassed the Depression.

That would be too big of a nut to crack.

People in the ruling classes had to end up manning the land.

We didn’t want to do that.

Nobody would be wearing nice frocks.

The main excitement is we have a Royal visit.

The prospect of that gets everyone at Downton very animated.

Obviously you get quite a make-under as Mrs Hughes. Do you get jealousy pangs over the ‘upstairs’ costumes?

Occasionally I might say I’m jealous of Penelope (Wilton) and her beautiful dress.

I’ll compliment her on how fabulous she looks, then catch myself in the mirror and think, oh well.

To be honest, there is something to be said for only having two costumes.

Mrs Hughes has a night-time outfit and a daytime outfit.

If I do go out into the village, I get an ‘outside’ outfit, which is a nice jacket or a shirt and blouse.

All the youngsters, and Maggie (Smith) to a certain extent, have to go for endless costume fittings because they’re wearing several dresses throughout the film.

There’s nothing I like less than having to do costume fittings.

Mrs Hughes does have her advantages.

A blue or a black costume.

That’s it.

How did it feel to step back into the castle?

Magical, definitely.

It still gives me a thrill when I catch my first view of it.

Not that I get to go to the castle that much.

I do have a few days up there, but Lesley (Nicol), who plays Mrs Patmore, never gets to go up to the castle.

She’s always down in the kitchens, which are filmed in the studios in Shepperton.

Was there anyone you were really excited to reunite with?

Understandably the people you do most of your scenes with are the ones you have a closeness with.

That would include all of the downstairs people, particularly Jim (Carter).

Lesley, too.

We’re of a similar age, we’ve been around the block and we knew each other beforehand.

It’s a treat working with her, and Sophie McShera, her counterpart, who plays Daisy, and Jo Frogs – that’s Joanne Froggatt – we all have a laugh.

It’s much easier in the studio than being in the castle where you have to mind your ps and qs and you can’t put a polystyrene cup on the furniture.

We can do what we like, trash the place!

Was it easy to slip back into character?

Oh yes. It’s like wearing an old pair of gloves and a nice pair of comfy shoes.

It was the same shoes actually, and the same corset.

The minute you put your hair up under that wig, apply that minimal make-up and slip into the costume, it’s so easy to become Mrs Hughes.

She’s the most beloved character of any of the roles I’ve played.

How are your own housekeeping skills? Are you stern and houseproud?

I wouldn’t say houseproud, no.

I like to keep the place halfway decent.

I can get a bit sniffy if my husband or son is mucking the place up, but it’s no show home by any stretch of the imagination.

My house is lived in.

It’s comfortable and homely.

I’d like it to stay like that.

Do Downton fans go crazy when they see you?

Not in this country, but in America people went crazy mad.

When Americans like something, they show you their appreciation times 100.

In Britain, they politely tell you that they enjoyed it.

What’s the craziest fan encounter you’ve had?

My husband was at Comic Con to promote Pirates Of The Caribbean.

I went along for the ride but they were doing a Downton Abbey chat with fans and realised I was there, so I went along as a surprise guest.

I met a woman who was a librarian and she and her husband dress up as Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes.

In the evening she would be Mistress Hughes.

Whips were involved with suspenders and what not, and the wig and the keys.

She had my keys tattooed on her hip.

That was weird.

Will you ever retire?

There might be a point in one’s career when you think you have to do everything you’re offered.

That’s not necessarily the case these days.

I do like to pootle about the house a lot, see chums and be a bit lazy, to tell you the truth.

Filming can be quite intense.

Although what was lovely about the Downton series, and the film to a large extent, was that it was civilised.

When you were on you were up at 5am and home at 8pm, but we did have a break.

Source: Read Full Article