Downton Abbey’s curtain call wasn’t just emotional for fans, according to co-star Phyllis Logan, as it left even the steeliest of the cast and crew in pieces.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Times, Logan, best known for her role as the formidable yet warm-hearted housekeeper Mrs Hughes, revealed that Jim Carter, 76 – usually the epitome of restraint as Mr Carson – broke down in tears during the show’s final moments on set.
Recalling the end of the original series, Logan said: “Jim Carter was blubbing! I remember standing by the make-up truck to get my wig on and Lesley, that is, Mrs Patmore, was there and Sophie [McShera, aka Daisy, the maid], we three were stood sobbing into each other’s necks for about 20 minutes.
“And then Jim made a speech and started breaking up – and that’s not Jim at all – and so that set everybody off.
“There was a boom operator and one of the sparks – great big guys, you know, and they were sobbing behind him and I was, like, ‘Oh, for f**k’s sake, I can’t take this!’”
For a man as famously composed as Carter, this unexpected show of emotion clearly hit hard. “That’s not Jim at all,” Logan emphasised.
The final film in the Downton Abbey trilogy is set to be released in September, and for Logan, it marks the true end of an era.
“No, because it’s probably – no, definitely – time to hang up our Downton keys and say goodbye,” she said when asked if she expects more tears at the last screening.
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Though she may be ready to move on, Logan remains grateful for the show’s legacy.
She said Downton, which was a huge worldwide success, “gave me lots of opportunities and is a great stroke of luck which has enabled me to be more picky, I suppose.”
Since her Downton days, Logan has embraced more audacious roles – including her latest turn in Murder Most Puzzling, a cosy crime drama where she plays the bold and brassy Cora Felton.
“It definitely does [feel different], and I didn’t take it lightly,” she admitted of leading the series. “I was actually quite daunted by it… I thought – you know – physically I don’t know if I’ve got the stamina for something this big.”
But despite the exhaustion, she found joy in the challenge: “Oh God, yes – but it was hard work, don’t get me wrong. I was exhausted,” she said when asked if it was fun.
Now aged 69, Logan remains refreshingly candid about her career and aging in the industry.
She jokes about Jane Fonda: “Well, we’re much younger than her!” – and delights in roles that let older women be seen.
“It’s encouraging that we’re not invisible any more,” she said. “There are myriad different types of 69-year-olds and it’s nice to play Cora with her fabulous outfits. I just love it, so long may it continue.”
