'Prince William said he loves to watch Downton Abbey... but only after he became a dad': Cast discuss royal fans on Watch What Happens Live!

 

By Daily Mail Reporter
  It has won numerous awards and it is one of the most widely watched television shows in the world.

But it seems Downton Abbey can now count the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge amongst its most loyal fans – thanks to the arrival of Prince George.

Allen Leech, who plays Tom Branson on the hit British period drama, has revealed how Prince William started watching the show religiously with his wife when he became a father.=

Chewing the fat: Rob James-Collier, Laura Carmichael, Lesley Nicol and Allen Leech reveal their biggest royal fans to Andy Cohen on Tuesday's Watch What Happens Live!

Avid viewers: Prince William, pictured with wife Kate and baby Prince George, said he had started watching the show following the birth

'Obviously he’s now got a lot of down time so she’s gone "I’m watching this and you’re watching it with me",' he joked.

News of their new royal fan emerged as Leech appeared on US television show Watch What Happens Live alongside fellow cast members Rob James-Collier, Laura Carmichael and Lesley Nicol.

When one viewer called in to ask a favourite question amongst Americans - "Have you ever met the royal family?" - the group immediately turned to Leech.
'I was actually at an event last week with Prince William, now the Duke of Cambridge,' he said. 'So yeah, I met him last week… shook his hand.

'He actually said "I’m a big fan of the show. Only now that my wife’s had a baby".'

Nicol, Downton’s resident cook Mrs. Patmore, quickly chipped in that she had once met Camilla Parker Bowles, but host Andy Cohen looked less than impressed.

'You know, it’s the nearest one I’ve got to,' Nicol retorted.

Royal fan revelation: Allen told Andy how Prince William had revealed he watches Downton but only after wife Kate had become a mother to baby George

What will happen to Lady Edith? Laura Carmichael remained tight lipped over the fate of her character

Upstairs, downstairs: Rob James-Collier plays footman Thomas Barrow on the hit period drama series

The flame-haired actress, who famously played Mrs. Beaver on the 1988 BBC adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, also admitted that she is not much of a whiz in the kitchen, despite being in charge of the meals on Downton.
'For many, many years, before I met my current husband who can cook, I would invite people over to my house for dinner and usually what would happen is it wouldn’t be ready,' she confessed.

'People knew that and they’d come a bit early to finish the dinner because it wouldn’t be there. Then you could eat. It’s quite bad I suppose.'

Larking around: Leech was quizzed on whether he was related to One Direction star Niall Horan

Celebrity lookalike: Leech joked that was actually the father of heart-throb Horan

There were laughs galore during the 30-minute show as Cohen compared Downton to the Real Housewives and played clips of the cast members in their pre-Downton roles.

He also joked that he had received tweets from One Direction fans comparing Leech to Irish heartthrob Niall Horan.

Leech nodded in agreement as he was told they looked alike. Asked if he had ever met the pop star, he joked: 'He’s my son. I had him really young. I had a choice to give him to the circus or a boy band. I chose a boy band. He’s been much better there because his backflips were terrible.'

Fan of the show: Andy Cohen told his guests he preferred the 'Downstairs' cast

Who won the poll? The Downstairs characters came out on top

Candid chat: Andy introduced his irreverent humour into the conversation

James-Collier, who plays footman Thomas Barrow, struggled to keep his composure as he re-enacted a scene from Downton with Cohen playing the role of O’Brien.

And he joked that he was drunk and rowdy as the host asked viewers to decide who they found more attractive in the period drama – the upstairs or downstairs characters.

When Cohen said he preferred the downstairs cast, James-Collier pointed at the audience and said: 'They better had too. I’m drunk and I get aggressive when I’m drunk. There’s a baseball bat just over your shoulder, which I will use.'

New reality show: Nicol revealed she was a big fan of The Real Housewives series which also airs on Bravo

I'm no chef: Lesley revealed she is not quite as up to scratch as her alter ego Mrs Patmore in the kitchen

Carmichael, who was working as a receptionist when she landed the role of Lady Edith Crawley on Downton, said the part was a 'dream come true' – but was quick to point out that she had trained as an actress.

'I’d been to drama school and I was trying to be an actress. It makes it sound like I just decided to have a go,' she laughed.

Carmichael was reluctant to give too much away when asked whether Lady Edith will ever find happiness.
'She goes into porn in this series,' James-Collier quipped.
The former Coronation Street actor was also asked about his character’s sexual antics.'He’ll do anything to anyone at any time. He’s not fussy, is what I’m saying.'

Role playing: Cohen acted out a hilarious skit with Rob where he played Thomas's frenemy ladies maid Sarah O'Brien

Keeping it together: Rob tried hard to play it straight as he acted against Cohen

Acting up: Andy tried his best to pretend to be O'Brien, much to the cast's amusement

The cast remained tight-lipped, however, when asked whether there had been any behind-the-scenes romances.

'Me and Allen had a thing in the first series but he dumped me. I don’t want to talk about it,' James-Collier joked.

'It didn’t work out,' Leech added. 'I don’t want to talk about it either.'

Promotional trail: The cast of Downton are currently stateside to promote the new series of the show

Cuddly: Rob looked thrilled to be handed a large pillow with a topless man on it

This one is better: Andy hugs a cushion featuring Rob's character Thomas Barrow

While Nicol admitted that she was a fan of US reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,
Cohen seemed smitten with James-Collier and hugged a cartoon pillow of his character Thomas Barrow.

'Why don’t you hug the real thing?' the Manchester-born actor asked before giving the host a tight squeeze.

Season four of Downton Abbey, which has already aired in the UK, premieres in the United States next month.

Hugging it out: Rob embraced the popular talk show host at the end of the show