'Downton Abbey' Dan Stevens: 'Matthew might not survive the war'

Published Aug 2 2011, 11:59 BST  |  By Catriona Wightman

Dan Stevens has hinted that his Downton Abbey character Matthew Crawley may not survive the second series.

The new episodes are set in World War I and Matthew has been sent to the front line.

Stevens has now revealed that filming the trench scenes was "miserably cold and wet and muddy".

"The whole experience of filming in the trenches was extraordinary and overwhelming and very, very difficult," he told the Radio Times. "Until we got there I found it impossible even to conceive what life could have been like, then we got on set and the atmosphere... the horrific conditions..."

Stevens added that he has been researching the life of soldiers and was shocked by the average life expectancy of people sent to the trenches.

"It is disturbing not only because of what these guys went through but also because my chances of surviving the war are not looking good," he said. "I haven't seen the scripts for the end of the series yet - every time I see [writer] Julian Fellowes, I try to smile."

Stevens explained that he has signed up for the show's Christmas special but added: "Whether I actually make it to Christmas in one piece - or at all - remains to be seen."

Downton Abbey's executive producer Gareth Neame recently suggested that the drama could run for six series. The second will air on ITV1 later this year.

> 'Downton Abbey': First impressions of season two