Return to "Downton Abbey" – CBS News

For much of the decade, millions of viewers took advantage of a series of televised emotions for the "Downton Abbey" series, an English drama series about Crawley and working class employees.

By the end of the series in 2016, every cast member had become a star – a challenge for the creator Julian Fellowes when making the film "Downton Abbey".

"They were doing Broadway shows, Hollywood movies and shows, and playing in London and God knows what," Fellowes said. "And I think it was a logistical nightmare."

Fans will find all their favorite characters, up and down, preparing – and preparing – a royal visit.

Michelle Dockery, also known as Lady Mary, told correspondent Elizabeth Palmer at tea that some fans embraced the imaginary world of Downton more than fully. "It's almost as if they were acting around you as if you were kings," she said. "It's what I sometimes find very amusing.They see us and think we are the characters.This comes with the territory to be with such a huge series."

And that people believe in, or want to believe in.

"Ground Zero" of fantasy is the building that plays the role of Downton Abbey: Highclere Castle outside of London. Recently, its owner, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, and his wife, Lady Carnarvon, judged a Downton-themed costume contest in which the locals channel their inner aristocrats.

Here, public passion feeds private companies. For a fee, visitors can visit the magnificent halls and the castle park where the Crawley family drama takes place.

"I dare to say that Highclere's silhouette is perhaps now more famous than Buckingham Palace's," Palmer said.

"He has become very famous around the world," Lady Carnarvon said. "But I would not want to be in front of Her Majesty the Queen!"

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In fact, it is said that the queen is a fan – just like millions of Americans, like those who spotted Hugh Bonneville (the actor who plays Lord Grantham) at Highclere.

The call of "Downton Abbey", Bonneville told us, is universal: "I come back to the first reading of the first scenario, and these characters appeared on the page.They were attractive and bright.

"And even more, I wanted to know what was going on next.This was a page turner."

But not everyone was sold for the first time. "The concept of costumes in costume, certainly in Britain, was being abandoned," Bonneville said. "We have not even managed to interview anyone."

It did not last long. Soon, the series was a triumph and his characters are well known names.

Lesley Nicol, who plays the cook, Mrs. Patmore, said the series had changed her life. "Oh blimey, in many ways, I do not know how long you have, but personally, professionally, ways that I could not have imagined could happen.The fact that I support a charity organization in China , which happened if 160 million Chinese did not look at "Downton Abbey"!

Allen Leech has been called Tom Branson, the ex-driver who marries the Crawley family.

Palmer said, "You have to wonder why this has been so successful?"

"Yes, and I still have trouble finding an answer to that," Leech replied. "Even Julian himself is struggling to find an answer." He says, "You know, it's like a lightning bolt in a bottle. "If he could bottle it, he would sell it, you know?"

Part of the answer is that Julian Fellowes's script has created a haven against our hectic time, a reassuring world where everyone has their place, from the lord of the mansion to Carson the butler, played by Jim Carter.

"It's not cynical," Carter said. "There are no men with guns, there is no violence.It is a romance story.It is also a nostalgic return." at a time when things were better settled. "

This does not mean that the film did not innovate. There are some new faces, including Jim Carter's real wife, Imelda Staunton.

When asked how intimidating it was for her to join the "family" of the cast, Staunton said, "To be honest, when I arrived, I felt very familiar because I've been living with Carson for a while. time!"

Maud Bagshaw, her character, crosses the sword with Violet Crawley of Maggie Smith. "You know, with Maggie, if any of us had the lines she had, none of us could deliver them like her," Staunton said.

"Downton Abbey", the film, has a larger budget than the television series, and it shows. But it seems that money has never been the magic ingredient. "It's largely lucky," Fellowes said. "You're lucky, and you get the right combinations all the way, and people keep claiming more, and I really think it's that simple."

To watch a trailer of "Downton Abbey", click on the video player below:

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Story produced by Mikaela Bufano.