Chelsie Carson

It’s hard to believe 15 years have passed since the world was introduced to the Crawley family and their staff in Julian Fellowes’ beloved period drama Downton Abbey. Across six award-winning television series and two hugely successful movies, the story explored the lives and loves of those both above and below stairs in early 20th-century Britain, before taking the splendour up a notch on the big screen.

This September, the saga draws to a close with the third film, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, which promises a poignant send-off at the dawn of a new decade. Among the favourite faces returning to the franchise is Mrs Hughes, the steely but kind housekeeper, portrayed by Scotland’s finest, Phyllis Logan.

As we prepare to wave goodbye to the Grantham Estate, Phyllis, who recently starred as a crosswording sleuth in Murder Most Puzzling, tells Prima about her memories of Downton’s legendary star Dame Maggie Smith, finding love with husband and fellow actor Kevin Mcnally and the many ways in which Downton Abbey has changed her life.

A FINAL FAREWELL

From the first read of the script, I knew Downton was special. On paper, it looked terrific; written by the Oscar-winning Julian Fellowes – big tick. Dame Maggie Smith, another big tick. Dame Penelope Wilton, Hugh Bonneville, tick, tick! From the word go, the script was compelling and I thought: this is going to have legs. I was told they’d like to book me as Mrs Hughes for the first season and if it becomes any kind of success, then we’ll have you beyond that. Little did they know!

The final film looks sumptuous – a real feast for the eyes. The costume design by Anna Robbins is terrific. John Lunn’s music is lovely and it’s all set against the stunning backdrop of Highclere Castle itself. There are some beautiful scenes at Ascot, too – sadly Mrs Hughes never gets involved with any of that finery. Hey-ho!

I think it was the right time to put the Crawley family to bed. It was lovely to get together for one last hurrah, but also tinged with a slight regret that this would be the last time. We have been doing this since 2010 and after the first six seasons we thought, well, that’s the end of it. And then we got a film, and another film and then this last film. How lucky are we? But it’s the right time to close that chapter now. It is called The Grand Finale, after all.

The fans will be very happy with the finale. They have all loved it so much and been great supporters of Downton through all these years. The number of people who still watch it astounds me; they say how they get such great comfort and enjoyment from it and that it saw them through such hard times. I think the fans get a full return with the finale.

Being part of something as globally successful as Downton still takes me by surprise. I think, did all that really happen? Aside from Dame Maggie Smith, I’d say most of us were what you call ‘jobbing’ actors. You never expect this magnitude in your career. It was quite bizarre when suddenly, all around the world, the show gained traction and fans. People became obsessed with it and subsequently it gave myself and the cast so many opportunities in our lives and careers. We flew here, there and everywhere for premieres – I remember being in Singapore and Australia with the Downton family.

Luckily, I’m not recognised as Mrs Hughes on the street! But people do know me from the sound of my voice. I suppose the advantage I have, in comparison to the rest of the cast, is the fact I don’t look much like Hughes at all – I mean, the bare face, the wig..! But a lot of the time it is my accent that gives me away. I was at the coffee shop in my local park recently and I ordered my usual Americano with milk – as soon as the barista heard my voice she went, ‘You’re Mrs Hughes from Downton Abbey!’

All the Downton women are strong, forceful characters. The finale is set in the early 1930s, so you can see an attitude shift towards women. They are feeling empowered. Everyone, from the owners of the house to the maids and housekeepers, is strong-minded and hard-willed. What is lovely in the film is how Daisy, Sophie Mcshera’s character, really comes into her own. She is elected by Mrs Crawley (Dame Penelope Wilton) as part of the Country Fayre panel and puts Simon Russell Beale’s character right in his place.

The fans knew that Mrs Hughes would end up with Mr Carson before we did. People would say to Jim Carter and I separately, when are you going to get together on the show? I’d always ask, really? Where have you got that from?! I didn’t know at the time that the characters end up falling in love with each other, and I don’t think Julian [Fellowes] did either. But I remember Jim saying, ‘That’s not a bad shout, actually,’ and a nice trajectory for our characters.

We are all such great friends from Downton and we frequently meet up and go out. I love Lesley Nicol who plays Mrs Patmore – we will always have a great friendship. Brendan Coyle [who plays Bates] makes me die laughing. And Rob James-collier [Thomas Barrow] is a scream. There are too many funny moments – probably some that can’t be mentioned!

Dame Maggie Smith was an absolute true legend; I feel very honoured and privileged to say I’ve worked with her. It felt weird without her there at Highclere Castle; except her portrait was there in the hallway. Maggie was hilarious; I’d talk drugs with her. We were both on the same pills at one point and I used to ask her what dosage she was on. She’d always joke and say, ‘I think I’m overdoing these ones!’

COLOURFUL CHARACTERS

My role as Cora Felton in Murder Most Puzzling is very different to Mrs Hughes. It was so fun to let myself go and mess about with this character. She doesn’t give a stuff what people think of her. It gives you such freedom to do what you want. I hit it off immediately with Charlotte Hope – we call her Charlie – who played my niece in the show. We had a great rapport and it was such fun from start to finish.

Playing Linda Hutchinson in Girlfriends was also a huge departure from Downton. The series was written by the late, great Kay Mellor – we used to call it ‘a Mellordrama’. She was such a clever writer; the premise was ridiculous, but she made it totally believable. Everything was filmed on a boat – we were on a cruise ship for that and went around Malta, Marseille and Barcelona.

Ian Mcshane is very naughty, but so funny! I starred alongside him in Lovejoy as Lady Jane Felsham. That was a great time of my life – it’s not that I don’t appreciate things now, but I was young then and everything felt so new and exciting. I remember being suddenly asked to go on Terry Wogan’s TV show and I couldn’t believe it. To this day, people still talk to me about Lovejoy – usually, some handsome young man saying, ‘My father used to fancy you!’

I met my husband Kevin [Mcnally] on the set of Love And Reason, in 1993. Surprisingly, I was a bit put off by the idea of dating another actor. But when I met Kevin, there was no doubt. His profession didn’t matter. He was the one.

It was nice working with Kevin on the early seasons of Downton. Kevin played a nasty character in Downton; he wasn’t a ‘downstairs’ character, but regardless it was lovely spending time together at work. And Downton saved money on us two because they took us to work in the same car.

ACTING ROOTS

There were a lot of good singers in my family who liked to perform. My aunt Minnie was one of my dad’s six sisters. She was funny and would dress up and put on characters – I remember her pretending to be a coal man.

Acting was the only thing I was interested in, growing up. I wasn’t academic and the only thing I really loved at school was the extracurricular drama, theatre and film club. I did them all. We would go and see shows in Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre and I’d be involved in all the Gilbert and Sullivan shows we’d put on. My friends would say, ‘Why don’t you apply to drama college?’ I had never considered it as an option after school finished – I took the leap and I got into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

I visit my homeland of Scotland regularly. Fortunately, I’ve been going back in recent years to work – it’s nice to be paid to go back home. There are some cousins in my hometown of Paisley, then I have my sister in Ayrshire and friends in Glasgow, too. I have lived in London longer than I’ve ever lived in Scotland though. I moved down in 1982 and seemingly have not lost my accent!

I never really had a yearning to have children – until I met Kevin. I was so excited, but hellishly nervous, too, realising I’d be 40 years old by the time the baby was born. We didn’t know if it would be a boy or a girl and I suddenly got a wee bit panicked. Kevin always says the right thing, putting it all into perspective – and it was amazing in the end.

Kevin and I married in 2011, 17 years after we got engaged. Time ran away as our jobs got really busy, and then our family started. It was particularly difficult when he was doing Pirates Of The Caribbean – he was far away for so long and our son David was very young. We used to say, ‘We’ll never be apart for longer than four weeks.’ Four weeks became five, five became six. But David and I would go and visit Kevin in Barbados and St Vincent in the Caribbean when we could, and on set in Los Angeles, which was always lovely.

My favourite thing about Kevin is his positivity. He is always upbeat and doesn’t catastrophise like I tend to do. He has a very – almost, too – carefree attitude, but he’s very relaxed and has a healthy outlook on life. He is not a worrywart like me and he keeps me on the straight!

BEHIND THE CAMERA

My beauty secret that I’ve picked up from my time as an actor is simple. Stand with your hand on your hip and put your body on an angle, then get someone to shine light on you from up high and take your photograph from above. It’s always flattering.

Similarly, my skincare regime is nothing fancy. I’ve used Boots No7 range for ages – I love their Restore & Renew day and night face creams.

We all try to be healthy, but I don’t deny myself a treat – I am obsessed with crisps. Lorenz Crunchips are my favourite – I have a friend who came over from America and he discovered them in the corner shop near me. They come in all sorts of flavours, but I just love the ready salted ones. Even better, they are ridged. I am a crisp aficionado.

GIVING BACK

I am a dog person and give money to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. I played an RSPCA officer once, too. I love animals. I used to have a lovely Lurcher called Carlos – he was very special and is irreplaceable.

I have also worked with charities that support patients with dementia. My mother had cognitive impairment and my mother-in-law had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. It was tragic, as her personality completely disappeared. Some people have the experience of their loved ones having vascular dementia, where their personality turns from lovely to unrecognisable. It’s obviously not them any more, it’s the disease, and it’s very hard for people to experience that. I support charities doing such brilliant work in assisting patients and families affected because it’s such a harsh thing to be dealt in life. It is tough to see the sparkle fade.