Trifles & Titbits

Downton Reveals Its Juiciest Secrets.

Dust off the tails and polish the silver – the long-awaited Downton Abbey movie is almost here!

Four years after we farewelled the Crawleys, we return to the abbey for one last hurrah, joining the aristocrats in 1927 as they prepare for a visit from King George V and Queen Mary.

It’s a film fans have clamoured for, and series creator Julian Fellowes and the star-studded cast promise the flick will be the perfect ending to the saga – though with a twist that will send audiences reeling.

“I think by the end of the series [the film] was inevitable,” says Michelle Dockery (37), who plays the stoic eldest Crawley daughter, Lady Mary.

“We’d been talking about it for a long time and it was only a matter of time before they rallied the troops and got everyone in the same country and got people to commit. We knew it wasn’t quite over. When we went back, it felt like we never left.”

To celebrate the September 12 release, we’ve gathered some little-known behind-the-scenes facts about the hit drama.

1 Simon Jones, who plays King George V in the new movie, was the worst dancer in the cast, according to Allen Leech (Tom Branson). Unfortunately, and rather unbecoming of a king, he spent most of the time standing on the toes of Geraldine James, who portrays Queen Mary. The best? Michelle Dockery. “If anyone could do [Dancing with the Stars] it’s her,” says Allen. “And because the men had to wear long socks for the dance scenes, you get to see their legs. Hugh Bonneville has the most incredible calves.”