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Amy Nuttall

Born June 7, 1982 (Gemini)

From Amy's saucy days...

Before Amy Nuttall played hard done by maid Ethel on Downton Abbey, she was most notable for the role of saucy Chloe Atkinson on ITV soap opera Emmerdale. During her stint on Emmerdale, the head turning redhead posed for a number of men’s magazine. Amy Nuttall now regrets the photos, but said she was encouraged to pose in order to land better storylines on Emmerdale. After the second season of Downton Abbey, Amy thought her storyline was over, but Julian Fellowes felt he hadn’t quite finished Ethel’s tale and Amy Nuttall was brought back for season three.

After Emmerdale, Amy had roles in a number of West End shows including My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls and Cabaret. At 16 years old, Amy was chosen to play the lead role of Christine as understudy in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh’s UK tour “The Phantom of the Opera”. Nuttall started out as a classically trained singer. In 2005 she fulfilled her childhood ambition and recorded her first album, “Best Days”. In the same year, Nuttall toured the UK extensively as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady to critical acclaim. In 2006, the album “Best days” was nominated for Album of the year at the Classical Brit Awards.

Downton Abbey costs an average of one million pounds per episode to produce.

As of 2013, Downton Abbey is the highest rated PBS "Masterpiece" drama series of all time, seen by an estimated 120 million viewers in 200 countries and regions.

Gillian Anderson reportedly turned down the part of Lady Cora Grantham.

The real estate that "plays" Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle, has been the home of the Carnarvon family since 1679. In 1922, George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, co-discovered the Tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. On the show, the names of the Earl of Grantham's beloved dogs, Isis and Pharaoh, are nods to the real castle's connection to Egyptian history.

According to Julian Fellowes, the parts played by Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Coyle and Maggie Smith were written for the actors.

It was reported that Steven Waddington auditioned for the part of Bates.

When Downton Abbey first aired, Julian Fellowes (creator and producer) was annoyed at the media for pointing out anachronisms like TV aerials and the use of the word 'boyfriend'. (The word 'boyfriend appeared in print in 1889, long before the period setting of Downton). Fellowes said "they think to show how smart they are by picking holes in the program to promote their own poshness and to show that their knowledge is greater than your knowledge". In a later article coinciding with the start of the second season, Fellowes apologised and commented "I behaved rather badly by getting the hump."

Amy Nuttall

Downton Abbey Trivia

Hunks of Downton Abbey

Extras

Shirley Maclaine Interview