Julian Fellowes is a ‘jolly lucky’ master of the dramatic

If there’s one thing you can count on Julian Fellowes to do, aside from his duties as a prolific actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, it’s talk. A lot.

Whether controversial or simply commentary, the context is irrelevant — the fact is, he likes to chat, and when he does, he commands the room with colourful anecdotes and plenty of candid opinion.

At 66, Fellowes marches to the beat of his own drum, and always has. He sets the agenda, from our pre-interview chit-chat (“What do you do?”), through to moving it on, with a sharp, “Right, off you go.”