Sadly for Official London Theatre, we’ve never had the pleasure of interviewing Dame Maggie Smith, an actress who, until recently, we might have called inimitable. Not any more. It turns out The Only Way Is Downton’s writer and performer Luke Kempner can do just that with aplomb… as he can Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter and the rest of the Downton Abbey cast.
In fact, he does a fine line in most pop culture impressions, from an Andy Murray who is so unexcited he is basically unconscious to Essex’s X-Factor star Rylan and even the Great British Bake Off’s Mel and Sue, as anyone who has seen his show at the Trafalgar Studios 2 can attest.
But why work mimicking magic on the dramatic behemoth that is Downton and who are his favourite subjects? We had to ask and, seeing as the answerers were so eclectic and included that elusive theatrical Dame, film it.
Enjoy Kempner’s interview at the top of the page. If you’d like to see more, The Only Way Is Downton plays in London until 22 February.