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| Lady Mary with arm candy George Craig, Roo Panes and Rob Pryor |
As she took her front row seat at the show for the Spring/Summer 2013 collection by British designer Christopher Bailey, she was joined by George Craig, lead singer of band One Night Only and the former boyfriend of Harry Potter star Emma Watson.
He is also a model for Burberry as is Rob Pryer, who sat next to George, and singer songwriter Roo Paynes, who is fronting the fashion house's autumn/winter campaign.
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| Lady Sybil by Mert and Marcus for Love Issue Eight |
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| Thomas The Footman by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott for LOVE issue 8 on sale 30th July |
On Downton Abbey, Anna Bates is the housemaid who keeps the Crawley family's secrets safe.
In real life, the actress who plays her, Joanne Froggatt, couldn't have been more forthcoming with PEOPLE about behind-the-scenes parties, the twists and turns of the upcoming season, and what it was like growing up on the moors – and her own big personal news.
1. She grew up on a farm:
Froggatt, 31, grew up on a small farm in north Yorkshire, near the English border with Scotland, where she helped with the chores and played on the desolate landscape with her older brother.
"My dad had a flock of sheep, which he used to milk, and then my mum used to make cheese and yogurt out of the sheep's milk and sell it. It was kind of an unusual upbringing really," she says. "It's very kind of Wuthering Heights where my parents house is, moors and deserted, really. It's very wild and mystic. When the wind is going and the rain is lashing down, there's something so romantic about the whole place."
2. She's getting married:
Fiancé James Cannon runs his own I.T. company, and is understanding of the demands of Froggatt's show-biz career. The couple are set to marry later this year, and Froggatt has been frantically balancing wedding planning with filming the show and her upcomings movies, Filth (with James McAvoy and Jim Broadbent) and the indie Still Life.
"But this is what you hope for, really – you've just got to take these times and enjoy them and grasp them by the horns and go with it because there will be quiet times again in the future," she says. "But I'm enjoying every minute of it at the moment."
5. Anna Bates will come into her own:
Season 3 doesn't air in the United States until January, but Froggatt offers a sneak peek.
"You do see her grow up that little bit more, and she's a married lady now, she's Mrs. Bates. She moves in to a more senior position in the house and she kind of becomes a woman," Froggatt says. "And obviously her and Mr. Bates are having their turmoils again, so she's fighting to free her man as well."
Jessica Brown Findlay is late. But when she finally arrives, the anonymous room in Soho, here in London, becomes inundated with the magical warmth of her presence. She is somewhat puzzling: it is difficult to figure out whether her beauty is the cause or effect of such contagious enthusiasm. The enigma lingers for the entire duration of the encounter.
It is only afterwards, when the impression is settled, that the solution, perhaps more banal than predicted, appears clear: Jessica is an authentic celebration of her life. Her ascent proceeds rapidly. The important role of Lady Sybil Crawley in the successful ITV period drama Downton Abbey and then the film Albatross (2011) opened the road to a cinematographic career no longer just a promising one.
All this after a sudden stop to a completely different profession, that of a classical ballet dancer. And now she is there, on the big screen roller coaster. "As much as the experience of acting may be thrilling, I like to have moments in which my telephone is switched off and no one knows where I am: it also helps me to be a better actress." These are words that reveal a maturity that one would not expect from a twenty-year-old, the same that is revealed in the relationship she has with her own body, and not only…
"Now I have a grown-up attitude with regards to physical and mental health. I love the softness of my figure. Doing sport is of course fundamental to have a healthy body. But nothing conventional, however: only a bit of Bikram yoga, that calms me and helps me concentrate."
Irish actor Brendan Coyle is slightly bemused by the level of global success reached by Downton Abbey. During the first series he got tweets about the show from all over the world, in one night from as far away as Alaska and New Zealand.
"I thought, something mad is happening here and it is great," he laughed.
...The second season covers 1916 to 1919 but the third will slow down again and cover just 18 months.
"We rattle through a lot of storylines in order for the war to end but season three we are getting right back down to the detail of lives - we have to or we are all going to be 100 in season five."
One of the most tangled storylines of the series follows the romance of Bates and head housemaid Anna Smith. He is trying to get out of his marriage to the scheming, selfish Vera who is blackmailing him with the threat to reveal Lady Mary's scandalous affair with a Turkish diplomat in season one.
Once again Bates is doing the noble thing and suffering for other people's misdeeds.
"Some people do find that frustrating," Coyle said. "But he has to put duty first, he is very much a man of his time.
"To him it seems he has no option - he can't allow this family to fall into disgrace and if that means sacrificing his life, temporarily, I think he thinks it will come good in the end but for the moment he has to protect Lord Grantham's reputation.
"This man saved his life during the (Boer) war and gave him a job."
But he adds that viewers should also remember that romance was difficult downstairs in those days. Couples generally could not stay in service if they married.
And in the early 20th century, it was a very good job working in a big house. It wasn't cushy exactly but it was a desirable position. Life outside of service was bleak and could be a choice between the mills or the workhouse.
This summer, Queen Elizabeth II marks 60 years on the throne, making her the second-longest-serving monarch. As part of the PBS British Summer Holiday event, which continues PBS' history of presenting acclaimed Brit-themed programs, Queen & Country, premiering nationally on Sundays, July 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings) brings the celebration of Her Majesty's diamond jubilee on-air.
Hosted by veteran journalist, Sir Trevor McDonald OPE, Queen & Country brings viewers on an exploration of the customs surrounding the British monarchy as well as a tour of the sites that are central to royal history:
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| Zoe Boyle and Ophelia Lovibond. |
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| Dan Stevens and Eddie Redmayne |
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| Love me some Eddie Redmayne! |
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| Dan and The Doctor...I mean Benedict Cumberbatch |
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| Christopher Bailey with Dan |
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| I think he should be the next Bond...seriously!! |
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| Guy with scarf? |
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| Tinie Tempah, Guy with scarf, Dan |
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| Benedict Cumberbatch, Designer Nick Heart and Dan |
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| Photo tweeted by @GQRecommends |
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| Tweeted by @TheGQStyle |
The London Fundraising Committee, along with The Haven, held a beautiful summer evening event at The Chelsea Physic Garden on Tuesday 12 June. The Garden Party was attended by Lord Fellowes and some of his Downton Abbey friends:
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| From left to right: Sophie McShera (Daisy), Kevin Doyle (Molesley), Joanne Froggatt (Anna), Brendan Coyle (Mr Bates), Julian Fellowes (The Creator), Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore), David Robb (Dr Clarkson) |
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| Lord Fellowes and his beautiful Lady Fellowes |
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| Photo Credit: Dave M. Benett / Getty Images |
Late last year, something happened to Joanne Froggatt for the first time: She was recognized. In America.
“I was in a deli in New York, and it was really weird for me!” remembered the woman who plays maid Anna on "Downton Abbey," one of the biggest cult sensations to leap across the pond in years. It happened during a break in the press junket for “Downton’s” second season last December, and she recalled, “I raced back to the hotel and told everyone!”
Froggatt’s Anna is, of course, half of the dynamic, romantic duo that also includes Mr. Bates. As viewers may remember, the valet has been incarcerated for allegedly killing his first wife – Anna is now his second. It’s one of the most popular stories on the PBS series, and part of that attraction comes from Anna's sweet disposition.
“She’s just a really nice person, and she’s not wishy-washy, either,” said Froggatt, who has been acting for 15 years in various British films and TV shows. “I’ve tried hard not to make her too angelic, though.”
So can Anna and Mr. Bates ever be truly happy together? He's still behind bars as season three begins, Froggatt revealed. “She’s still charged with trying to get him free, and that’s probably all I can tell you,” she said. “That, and that we have the lovely Shirley MacLaine.”
“Some people say playing a nice person is boring, but it’s a departure for me," Froggatt explained. "I’ve played a lot of traumatic and emotional roles before, so Anna has been a nice change. I love that she’s a well-grounded person.”
Still, Anna could blow her top one day. Froggatt teased, “Maybe she will go after Thomas after all. She can only be nice for so long!”
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| Photo Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times |
"Downton Abbey"creator Julian Fellowes has watched all the parodies of his show — Jimmy Fallon's "Downton Sixbey," the "Saturday Night Live" skit re-imagining "Downton" as an obnoxious SpikeTV series, the dog website that pairs the program's characters with canine counterparts.
But one sketch has captured Fellowes' fancy more than any other.
"That fast-food chain you have with the name something like Arbus," Fellowes says, calling from his home in Dorset, England. Arby's? "That's it. 'Downton Arby's.' That one gave me so much pleasure. The gags display such an understanding of the characters. I loved watching [problem middle daughter] Edith getting it all wrong, being depressed and ripping open those packets of horseradish sauce with her teeth."
"I do like American fast food, so I might have eaten at Arby's driving on a motorway or something," Fellowes says. "But even if I haven't, I'm going to eat there now."
