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Water bottles and designer underwear banned from Downton Abbey set
After a water bottle was included in a publicity shot for Downton Abbey, the cast and crew have been banned from bringing contemporary items on to the set
After the “bottlegate” crisis hit Downton Abbey – a very contemporary bottle of mineral water had been left on the mantlepiece as Hugh Bonneville and Laura Carmichael posed for a publicity shot in period costume – Mandrake hears that the cast and crew have been banned from bringing anything contemporary on to the set.
“Modern watches and jewellery are out and so even is modern underwear as the danger is apparently too great it could be seen if we bend over,” one member of the cast whispers.
“They have relented in the case of prescription glasses and asthma guns, but that’s about it.” Lord Fellowes, the creator of the series who has always prided himself on the historical verisimilitude of what is depicted and said on screen, says he was unaware of the ban, but imagined that there would be reprisals for the individual who was responsible for leaving the bottle of mineral water in the now notorious shot.
“I liked the cast’s response, though, didn’t you?” Julian tells Mandrake. “It was a silly mistake, of course, and I suppose someone will be blown up for it, but if the cast can turn it around and actually help to raise some money for such a terrific cause, then I’m glad it happened. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.”
Members of the Downton Abbey cast posed for a tongue-in-cheek shot to promote the work of international charity WaterAid, which aims to provide clean water and lavatories to poor communities.
Viewers of the series can be sticklers for accuracy, even to the extent to being what Fellowes regards as “nit-picking.”
Still, they do claim to have seen a television aerial fixed to a home, a modern-style conservatory, as well as double yellow lines on a road. A modern street sign was reportedly spotted in the background in one scene, too.