A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey: Seasonal Celebrations, Traditions, and Recipes (31 page)

As series five progresses, we see Cora’s character develop yet further. Elizabeth enthuses: ‘We’re getting to know who Cora is a lot more and I’m loving that she has much more of a distinct personality – there’s a separate storyline that I’m absolutely relishing.’ Few actors are with their characters for five years, as many of the
Downton
actors have been, and while there may be challenges in that, it brings its own rewards, as Elizabeth explains: ‘You have to give it a variety of pacing, because you’re fitting into a giant tapestry. It’s been interesting to reconcile that. But I’ve absolutely loved the opportunity to live with a character so long; there’s so much that’s already there when you come to the table.’

Perhaps the greatest tribute to the show is that, in the end, the actors and crew working on
Downton Abbey
have the feeling of being at a long house party themselves – there is a lot of preparation to be done and crucial skills are needed to execute it successfully, but the end result is a good time had by all.

Simon Bricker

These irresistible biscuits were a popular savoury (the final course after pudding, which has sadly now fallen out of fashion). They can also be presented as canapés to go with drinks in the more contemporary style.

MAKES ABOUT 25

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

Grate ¾ cup of the cheese into a mixing bowl. Sift in the flour and add the salt and cayenne pepper. Crumble in the butter and rub in with your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb texture. Stir in the egg yolk and form the dough into a ball with your hands.

Dust the worktop and a rolling pin with a little flour. Roll the dough out in a rough square, to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Cut into strips about ½ inch wide and 4 inches long and gently transfer to the baking sheet. Finely grate the remaining Parmesan over the top of the straws.

Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

These soufflés would make an impressive dinner-party finale for the Crawleys – take them straight to the table while they are at their full height. Serve with double cream or vanilla ice cream.

SERVES 6–8

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Grease several ramekins with butter, not forgetting the rims, then dust with the cocoa powder and superfine sugar. Place on a baking sheet.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the alcohol or coffee, if using. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the beaten egg yolks.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks have formed. Add the sugar in stages, beating after each addition, until you have a thick, glossy consistency.

Very gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites until the two are just incorporated. Divide the mixture between the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 8–10 minutes until risen. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

SPOTLIGHT ON

All of the below-stairs scenes in
Downton Abbey,
as well as some of those that take place above stairs – the family’s bedrooms, Robert’s dressing room, the servants’ attic bedrooms – are shot at Ealing Studios. The original site was developed in 1902, and has been used for film- and television-making ever since, as home to the Ealing comedies (from
Kind Hearts and Coronets
to
The Ladykillers),
but also other British hits, such as
Notting Hill
and the revived St Trinian’s franchise.

Unlike the rarefied and chilly atmosphere of Highclere Castle, Ealing Studios is a busy, working film studios, which also houses the series’ production offices along with the art, props, wardrobe, hair and make-up departments. The entrance is surprisingly low-key – a Portakabin with a few security guards sits at the front of a packed car park dominated by the caterers’ lorry, as well as the trailers for costume, hair and make-up and the mobile production office – a.k.a. ‘the AD truck’ – which houses the second assistant director’s office. The second AD is in charge of the logistics for the filming, liaising with all the departments to ensure that actors know where they need to be and when, as well as casting extras and looking ahead to take care of anything coming up such as booking a horse that is needed in two days’ time.

Behind the scenes at Ealing Studios.

The actors’ dressing rooms – un-fancy affairs, with maybe a comfortable sofa or two, a coffee table and a mirror with the traditional light-bulb surround – sit inside the original white-painted brick buildings which contain the stages, their character names pinned on to the door.

The classic truism about being on a film set is that everyone is always in the way of someone else: with as many as eighty or ninety crew around on any given shooting day, each of whom has a specified and important job to do, it can be hard not to be obscuring someone’s vision or path, as they all dodge around the edges of the enormous set walls.

On set, the beauty of
Downton Abbey
the show is somewhat hard to find at first. A tangle of wires, metal slats and hanging chains obscure the ceiling. The walls are lined with chicken wire, silver duct pipes and switches; the floors are worn-out laminate wood – to dampen the sound of people’s footsteps. Along the side, you’ll occasionally come across a trestle table with a vat of boiling water, boxes of tea and coffee sachets, polystyrene cups, some fruit – slices of watermelon, perhaps – and a tin or two of variety biscuits (the Bourbons are always the first to go). You have to walk carefully, watching out for thick black cables snaking across the floor or metal light stands – while I was there, someone was nursing a sore head from walking into a wayward pole. The plywood backs of the set tell small tales, such as ‘Mrs Hughes Sitting Room 5'.

While a scene is being shot, the footage from two cameras – ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ – is shown on two monitors, sitting side by side on what appears to be a hostess trolley. Shabby directors’ chairs – the kind you buy for garden picnics, with green nylon webbing and aluminium frames – are set in front, a small handmade plywood box hooked on to one arm to hold the owners’ headsets: ‘The Oracle’ (as Alastair Bruce is reverently known), ‘Good Queen Liz’ for Liz Trubridge and ‘Chris Croucher: the Lord Croucher of Downton Rushes’ (his real title is ‘producer'). Stuck on to the front of the trolley is today’s lunch menu for cast and crew: ‘Thurs 6 March 2014, Roast Rump of Lamb with a Mint and Redcurrant Jus, with New Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Savoy Cabbage, followed by Jam Roly-Poly with Custard.’ Suitably Downtonian, I think.