Downton Abbey: Kevin Doyle interview: 'I'm still coming to terms with it'

Kevin Doyle plays the Abbey's second footman, Joseph Molesley. Molesley has had a tumultuous time over the series, however he seems to have found peace and, potentially, love with fellow servant, Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy).

As well as numerous stage credits, Doyle is a familiar face on British television. As well as appearances on Casualty, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Midsomer Murders, he has starred in ITV's At Home With the Braithwaites, BBC drama The Lakes and played the rebel John Constable in The Tudors.

We spoke to him about Molesley's prospects for romance, moving on from Downton and Mrs Patmore's pots and pans.

Where are the characters of Joseph Molesley and Phyllis Baxter going in this final series?

I can’t say too much. They’re very careful characters. Because they’ve both experienced disappointment in life, one suspects. So they’re going to be tentative. It’s not going to be like the Anna and Bates romance where there’s a fiery coming together. It’s not like that at all. They’re two very different characters and they need to take their time. Things develop, but not necessarily in the way you might imagine. There’s a happy ending - I think there’s a happy ending, but it might not be the one that you think.

Does the idea of a Downton film appeal?

I think that there’s an agreement that, if the script is written and we can all get together, then we’d be up for it. There are a lot of "ifs" in there. It certainly won’t happen in the near future, I don’t think. Julian’s (Fellowes, Downton's creator) got a lot of other stuff to be getting on with, and the cast have got other things to be getting on with, in different parts of the world.

What have you got in the pipeline?

I’m doing a thing called Happy Valley next. So I start that soon.

Will it be nice to do something modern?

Yeah. I think if you asked most actors that question, they’d want to do something completely different to what they’ve just done. And that’s why it’s kind of good that Downton’s finishing now, because I think we all – or most of us – have been doing it for 6 years, and it’s probably enough time to tell the story of those characters, so I don’t know if there’s really anything else to say about them. But we’ve had lots of funny experiences. Every day was great fun.

It must have been very tricky, in some scenes, when you’ve got all the public hovering around in the background?

I think the production people learned pretty quickly that that wasn’t a goer, so when we’re at places like Bampton (the village that doubles as Downton) where we’re doing all the village stuff, they became quite aware that we had to secure the area and all of that, so otherwise it would’ve been impossible.

Were you involved in any of the big set-pieces that we know about?

Yeah, I think we’re all there. The best days were when we were all together. And they were quite rare, those days.

People have been asking about any mementoes the cast might have kept from the series. Did you take anything home?

No, I didn’t think to. There’s nothing to steal in the servants’ hall. But I wouldn’t have minded some of Mrs Patmore’s pots and pans.

How do you look back on the whole experience, now that it’s over?

I’m still coming to terms with it, to be honest with you. I don’t think it’ll really hit me for a while. A unique experience, never to be repeated. Magical.

Has it had a big impact on your career?

Not really. Not personally. It’s alright, you know. I make a living. But we’ve got keep working. Actors are paid less than you think.

Were you on the stage for that last servants’ scene?

Yes. It was hard... It was very emotional.

Were you offered any kind of support at the end? You have worked together for, in some cases, six years.

No. No, we’re actors. It’s only pretend. No, it was fine. It was a lovely moment.

Downton Abbey begins its final series on Sunday Sept 20, ITV, 9.00pm