Joanne Froggatt and Phyllis Logan Told to Us All About Anna and Mrs. Hughes’ Journey in ‘Downton Abbey’

Downton Abbey has been a thing in our lives for nearly 12 years now, and with Downton Abbey: A New Era hitting theaters in the United States, it’s exciting to see what some of our favorite characters are up to in this new film!

Getting to talk with Joanne Froggatt (who played Anna Bates in the show and subsequent films) and Phyllis Logan (who was our lovely Mrs. Hughes through the same), it’s clear that everyone involved in the world of Downton Abbey loves coming back to the franchise.

Neither of these characters particularly had a great time in the series. Anna was, after all, involved in two plots that had to deal with murder. So, to see them both relatively happy and having a fun time back at Downton for Lady Mary’s film shoot in Downton Abbey: A New Era is a fun change of pace for the characters.

When I asked both Logan and Froggatt about the journey their characters have been on, they seemed excited about every bit of their arcs. “All of it, really,” Froggatt said when I asked about her favorite part of Anna’s story. “And I mean that in a way because she’s had such a trajectory and such a massive journey to go on through the start of season one right through to the second movie. Literally all of it because I’ve been so blessed to be able to play all these different sides of the same character. Falling in love and that relationship, the universal and the world sort of pushing them apart and they get back together and obviously all the trauma that Anna went through and Mr. Bates went through and then they finally get the joy of having a child. And now to sort of head to the movies where Anna’s in a really good place and really excited by life.”

For Logan, she got to have a bit of a change to her character: Mrs. Hughes let loose! When I asked how fun it was to play a more carefree Mrs. Hughes, Logan said, “What is nice is she was given permission to, as it were, take her stays off.”

The joy of Downton Abbey

We’ve been with these characters for over a decade. They mean a lot to fans, and this movie is really a “new” era. We get to see the characters we’ve come to love embrace joy and have fun for once without worrying about some big party or the King and Queen coming, and it’s just a fun time!

You can see our full interview here:

Downton Abbey: A New Era hits theaters this May 20th!

(featured image: PBS)