Downton Girl

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Laura Carmichael - "As much as I think we all want to see Edith have a happy ending, we relish it slightly - these heartbreaks and comical failures that she has!"

If you've found yourself at a loose end on Sunday nights these past few weeks, and longing for the wag of a Labrador's tail to bring you to another world, Laura Carmichael can sympathise - she's been feeling the same way too. Sure, Carmichael discovers what's in the Downton Abbey scripts long before the rest of us commoners, but all those servants' hall scenes, all those hierarchies of intrigue - she doesn't see them until we do, because they're all shot in Ealing while Carmichael is away in the airy rooms of the real-life Highclere Castle playing Lady Edith. And, let's face it, short of Mr Right sitting in the scullery peeling spuds with Daisy and Mrs Patmore, Lady Edith wouldn't need to go below stairs for too much.

"I'm very excited to watch the episodes to see what's going on with Thomas and O'Brien - or Daisy and Mrs Patmore!," laughs Carmichael. "I love the scripts as much as anyone and I think the cast is fantastic. It's a really fun show to be part of, and I know if I wasn't in it I'd still be as addicted as I am!"

If Carmichael sounds like the series' biggest inside fan, even after filming two seasons and the Christmas special, it's no wonder: Downton Abbey is her first TV acting job. How she found herself sharing scenes with Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith and on-screen sisters Michelle Dockery and Jessica Brown Findlay is one of those aww stories to give any dreamer or fretting parent hope, and would make even the biggest pessimist put 'Take a risk' at the top of their New Year's resolutions list.

Like a great many graduates, Carmichael had to adjust her expectations when she left drama school and, to make ends meet, was working as a doctor's secretary. Then came an offer of an acting job, as Viola in a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night that was going to Dubai. Great news, but one small problem: there was the possibility, and only that, of a part in a series from Oscar-winning Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes called Downton Abbey. So Carmichael had to either take the play or pin her hopes that the she'd come up trumps in the ongoing Downton auditions.

"I felt it was one of those situations where I couldn't not gamble," she recalls. "I thought, 'I can do this' - but not at all thinking it was in the bag. I had to let the play know by the Friday and I knew that Downton weren't going to make up their mind until the Monday, so I had to say, 'I can't accept this play'. Then, on the Monday, Downton called and said, 'We'd like to see you again' - so it wasn't even this straight 'yes'! Then I auditioned again on the Tuesday and by the Wednesday I found out that I'd got it."

"Surviving on hardly any sleep", and having made the mistake of watching her co-star Maggie Smith in Ladies in Lavender on TV the previous afternoon, Carmichael arrived for her first day of filming a jumble of jitters, only to discover that she'd joined a family who were going to take proper care of her.

"My first day was a scene with Hugh - a two-hander," she says. "It was incredibly scary but across the board these actors, not only are they fantastic, but they are so generous and kind. For example, with Hugh that morning, he really understood that I would be nervous. We sat down and had a really great chat and played a 20 Questions game with each other - really wanting to put me at ease. It's the same with Maggie - she loves to tell stories and make us laugh and we absolutely love to hear them. It's been incredible. Not only is it a great script to work on with these fantastic actors, but it's such a learning experience. I'm in awe of all of them, across the board."

First scene done, Carmichael took a lift back from the set with new co-star and soon-to-be-big-pal Dockery, who did wonders for her confidence when she told her that she had no idea that Edith was her first TV role. Since that day, she hasn't looked back and one of the most rewarding things for Carmichael and the show's fans is how much her character has grown in the 2011 episodes. Whether it's tractor driving, farmer seducing, helping the wounded, realising her own self-worth, moving out of big sister Mary's shadow just a little or finding and then grieving again over lost love, the middle Crawley girl has led a fuller life and become more likeable during wartime. Indeed, if there was an award going for best development of a character in series two, Carmichael would be getting her speech ready.

"I think they all had to change under the pressure of war and grow up a bit," she says of the Crawley siblings. "Before they had no purpose or distraction from themselves and having to get married. Their options were: find a guy, get married and leave the house and that was it, really. And those weren't prospects for Edith! Revisiting the Patrick stuff, I was really pleased we got to see all of that bitterness again - that was the place where the rivalry with Mary started."
While you still feel that a ping-pong match of put-downs could still break out at any minute between Edith and Mary, series two has at times shown the sisters having a bit more regard for each other.

"I always feel like they're incredibly close," says Carmichael of the characters. "They understand each other better than anyone else and therefore that sparks. If you understand someone the rivalry can be so much worse, and you can say the most hurtful things because you understand how they tick. With Edith understanding her love for Matthew, I think it's great that Julian wrote in some scenes with Edith telling Mary [about Matthew being missing], because I think she had to put the rivalry aside. She understood that the war had shown what was more important than rivalry."

Whether there'll be more hugs than digs in the recently announced series three is anyone's guess. While Carmichael will be back filming in February (and expects to be done in September), she's yet to see a script.

"Lots of people have told me what they hope to happen for Edith and I'm waiting to see. I genuinely have no idea what Julian hopes to write - every time you think Julian's going one way he'll turn quickly the other. It's very open: she's vulnerable in that she's had her heart broken and it's not all set in stone that she will therefore marry the next chap who comes along. It doesn't seem to work like that for Edith, which is exciting to play. As much as I think we all want to see Edith have a happy ending, we relish it slightly - these heartbreaks and comical failures that she has! I think it will be really fun to see what happens to Downton in the Twenties. I think she should throw caution to the wind a bit and have a good time, seeing as there's no man immediately around the corner!"

But what about under the mistletoe? Before series three, we have the big gift that millions can't wait to unwrap: the Christmas Day episode. Carmichael is happy to rattle the present a little, but won't really tell us what's inside.

"Edith's as tenacious as ever, that's all I can say," she giggles. "You'll see her picking up where she left off in a way, but you won't be surprised to hear it's not a grandiose love affair for Edith at Christmas!"

And will love blossom for other Downton residents?

"I think it'll be lovely, the Christmas special. There are some really lovely moments people will really enjoy seeing - a fantastic Christmas tree at Highclere Castle and some really lovely treats that Julian has given everyone. I just hope everyone full of turkey can stay to watch the TV! I know I will be with my family."

Counting down the days has just got a lot more exciting.

Laura on...
Keeping a straight face with co-star Maggie Smith
"I don't really! The scene with us where she's trying to get William back from the hospital and she's on the telephone - I couldn't control myself that day. It was too much. And I think she was aware of it so she didn't help! She just kept being funnier and funnier every take! She's a genius. It's a great scene - I will show that one to grandkids, I'm sure."

Screen sisters Michelle Dockery and Jessica Brown Findlay
"They're great girls. I've been so lucky. We all come from all-sister families: Michelle's got two sisters; I've got two sisters and Jess has got one. I think somehow that really stood to us. We understood each other's sense of humour immediately and really enjoy hanging out on the set and off it as well. With Michelle, we get on so well and to then go and play some really bitchy scenes is great because you know what each other is thinking and you can dig the knife in, and then have a really good laugh about it as soon they say cut!"

Her favourite characters
"I love them all, I have to say, but I love watching Thomas and O'Brien, Rob James-Collier and Siobhan Finneran. I think what they do is so special. They're able to be villainous but not panto. I think they're fantastic - truthful, but wicked!"

Harry Guerin