'Downton Abbey' Creator Julian Fellowes and Stars Defend Controversial Season 4 Plot

WARNING: SEASON 4 SPOILERS FOR ALL NON-UK RESIDENTS:

Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes is defending a controversial storyline which aired Sunday, claiming the offending scene was not done gratuitously.

In the most recent episode of the popular period drama, Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) is raped by Lord Gillingham's valet, Green (Nigel Harman). The incident has resulted in more than 60 complaints being lodged with ITV, and an unconfirmed number with regulator Ofcom.

Credit: ITV

In an interview with the BBC, Fellowes said, "The whole point of the way we do things on Downton is we don't do them gratuitously. We are interested in exploring the resultant emotions and the effect these things have on people."

Fellowes continued, "If we'd wanted a sensational rape we could have stayed down in the kitchen with the camera during the whole thing and wrung it out. The point of our handling is not that we're interested in sensationalising but we're interested in exploring the mental damage and the emotional damage."

Ultimately, Fellowes said that the storyline it more about "taking characters to the brink", although he stressed that the controversial scene would not lead to the drama taking a different turn.

"Downton deals in subjecting a couple of characters per series to a very difficult situation and you get the emotions that come out of these traumas," said the Oscar-winning screenwriter.

"When you handle very difficult and sensitive storylines, the minus is that they do expect more work from the audience but the plus is they can take you to a helpful place in terms of self-analysis. The fact that [viewers] engage with it is sort of what you pray for as a program maker, because with most series that's not happening.

"It's always a compliment that everyone gets so involved in the show," he said, adding, "The whole rest of the series, for her story and for Bates's story, is seeing how she negotiates her way through this. I don't think we ever have a sense that she leaves it behind."

Meanwhile, Harman has admitted that the "bold storyline" was a "risky idea" for the drama.

Credit: ITV

However, while the complaints center on what was done to her character, Joanne Froggatt came to the defense of Fellowes and the storyline, saying it was a 'brave' move. "I was really proud of the show for tackling a subject like this. It's a really brave thing to do and I really do believe that Julian's written that in a way that is not gratuitous at all, he does very much go on to explore the emotional journey of Anna and Bates.
'He's done a beautiful job of hitting the right note with it. I think we all just felt a big responsibility to get it right."

Of showrunner Fellowes, Froggatt stated, "Julian, and this is a credit to him, was adamant that we wouldn't depict that kind of violence against a woman on the screen and that's something that he didn't want in a show of his, that he's a part of, and that's an incredible thing in this industry in this day and age. And the shock value was there without having to depict anything graphic. The story is shocking enough, as it should be for a story of that essence."

Via: Daily Mail / Digital Spy