THE award-winning British period drama Downton Abbey is back for a second season and The Witness caught up with one of the show’s stars, Brendan Coyle, who plays Bates, the valet to the Earl of Grantham.
In the last series, a scandal erupted that threatened his position and his burgeoning love affair with the head housemaid Anna (played by Joanne Froggatt).
But at the start of this season, life seems a lot more promising for Bates. Coyle explains: “On the face of it, things couldn’t be rosier for him. From his mother, Bates has inherited a house and a sum of money, which is quite unusual for a man of his background.
“His relationship with Anna is also in full bloom, and they are planning to get married. He’s back to being valet to Lord Grantham. The path seems very smooth. What could possibly go wrong?”
But very quickly Bates’s world is turned upside down by the arrival of his wife, Vera (Maria Doyle Kennedy).
“The arrival of his wife is catastrophic. Bates is prepared to do everything and anything to throw off the chains of a very unhappy marriage. He spends all his inheritance in trying to free himself, but still she will not let him go,” Coyle said.
“Vera is not a pantomime villain, but she has this tremendous power and a stranglehold over him and does not want to see him happy. Of course, the marriage breakdown is not all her fault — it takes two people to cause an unhappy marriage. It is a very interesting, very layered relationship. It makes for a really powerful storyline.”
DOWNTON Abbey can be seen at 8.30 pm every Sunday on BBC Entertainment (DStv channel 120).
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