After a promo shot for series 5 of Downton Abbey was posted online earlier this week, eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out a historical inaccuracy in the shot - a rogue bottle of water sitting on the mantelpiece. The criticism snowballed and before producers knew it there were Twitter memes mocking the error. But now the cast have responded to the mistake in the best way possible.
Cast members including Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville and Laura Carmichael posed for a guilty-looking picture , holding bottles of water, which was posted to the DowntonFacebook page. Dame Maggie Smith was the only cast member missing, presumably because she had a prior engagement.
The photo was in the name of charity, WaterAid, as the caption explained: "The cast of Downton Abbey embraced 'water bottle-gate' today by posing for a picture to promote the work of international charity WaterAid.
"A publicity still released this week hit the headlines when a plastic water bottle was spotted in the corner of the picture," it added. " The official photograph of The Earl and Lady Edith was cropped and used during the launch of the new season, but it was when an un-cropped version of the image worked its way onto the internet that it sparked a global press frenzy."
Loving this. Bring on the next season of the hit show - we'll be watching out for any era-inappropriate props, though!
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