‘Downton Abbey’ season 3: Hugh Bonneville explains how secrets stay safe

If you watched “Downton Abbey” season 3 in Britain this year, then you already know a little bit about what the feeling is like to watch some of the landmark moments of the show unfold in real time, without any knowledge as to what is going to be coming up. It’s rare in this modern day and age to have a show where there are such things that remain a surprise, since there are everyone from members of the paparazzi to spoilers out there trying to take photos of (spoilers for those viewing in America) Mary in her wedding dress or Sybil dying in her bed.

So how is the show effectively able to curtail much of this? In a new video that is coming out not as a way to promote the DVD release in Britain, some of the actors including Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery explain how much preparation goes into these sort of scenes, and how extra precautions are taken to ensure that no spoilers get out. Not only are extras given an extensive set of rules to follow, but there are also told to tell staffers for the show if they see any suspicious behavior. If any extra did choose to leak some information, it will pretty much be their head (or at least their acting career).

Thankfully, scripted series typically have an easier time dealing with secrets since you have actors with more to lose than reality shows do with cast members; plus, in that case you also have a number of bitter losers who are not even remotely interested in keeping any secrets.

How upset would you be if something from “Downton Abbey” season 3 was spoiled for you, and do you feel as though this sort of problem is starting to become an epidemic in the TV industry?