Goodbye Downton Abbey, Hello Sense and Sensibility

It's a truth universally acknowledged every TV period drama is in need of a galaxy actors to fill out the extravagant cast lists. Well known English actors rub shoulders with luminous ingenues and old sitcom stars looking for a new lease of life. All supported by bevvy of people you recognise from somewhere else, but can't quite put your finger on where that somewhere was...

ITV's amazing and now sadly-departed Downton Abbey was no exception, mixing perennial bustle-botherers Dame Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville with Lovejoy's Phyllis Logan and Every Decreasing Circle's Penelope Wilton. And then there was floppy-haired, blue-eyed Dan Stevens.

"Who?" I hear you ask. He played Matthew Crawley, the distinctly non-U Lord Grantham-in-waiting constantly rebuffed by Lady Mary, whilst the godawful Lady Sybil lurked in the wings with a face that could sour milk.

As it turns out he's no stranger to sporting a Corinthian bouffant, or to being spurned by ladies in bonnets. Not strictly speaking "costume", his big break came playing Nick Guest, the lead in Alan Hollingshurst's tale of Eighties excess The Line of Beauty - although there is an argument massive shoulder pads, ZX Spectrums and a love of Thatcher are so out of date they could be considered "Period".

Far more breeches and barouche boxes were his turns in the BBC's 2006 version of Dracula, and the US TV mini-series version of Frankenstein alongside Matt Goss. No, really.

However, if you want to re-live the doe-eyed glory of Matthew Crawley looking for love, may I direct your attention to his star turn as Edward Ferrars in the sexed-up version of Sense and Sensibility?

You may think you don't need to look beyond the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslett version, but this 2008 BBC three-parter brings a whole new melancholy and humanism to the piece, as well as containing Daisy Haggard's gloriously over-the-top Miss Steele.

So if you're missing Downton Abbey, why not scratch that itch with a visit to Barton Park and Donwell Abbey? I warrant you'll find it most felicitous...

Stephen Moyer's secret Vampire past revealed

Usually in these posts we try and reveal the name behind a face you've seen on TV only to spend fruitless hours trying to remember who they are, and where you saw them. Today however, we're going slightly off-road because you already know who Stephen Moyer is.

He's Bill Compton, the vampire-with-a-heart going out with Anna Paquin's lonely waitress in hit blood-sucking drama True Blood. With his molasses smooth drawl, chiselled looks and Southern charm you'd be forgiven for thinking Moyer is a born-and-bred American, but you could not be more wrong.

He was in fact born and raised in Brentwood, and True Blood isn't his first outing playing the undead, as keen-eyed fans of Channel 4's 1998 Underworld-meets-Spooks mini-series, Ultraviolet, can attest. The show peddled a nice line in mixing the supernatural with a spy thriller, and whilst Moyer wasn't the main star he's easily identifiable.

Sporting an unlikely bouffant that made him look like Oscar Wilde and Hugh Grant's lovechild, he played Jack Beresford, a corrupt cop and a Vampire - or 'Code V'. Check out episode one Habeas Corpus, to see him menacing former best friend Jack Davenport and the series finale, Persona Non Grata.

I won't tell you what happens, you'll just have to watch it. Whilst you're at it why not let us know what you thought? Should we get more vampire dramas, less, did you think it was good? I thought it was pretty good, even if the effects haven't really stood the test of time amazingly well. Spooks obviously owes a bit of debt to it, and I'm always happy to watch Susannah Harker in anything...

True Blood is on Channel 4, 11.00pm, Thursdays
Watch Ultraviolet anytime, for free on SeeSaw

Where Have I Seen Her Before?

The great thing about Reality TV is that the people who want to be publicly humiliated are more-than likely to reappear across multiple shows. Step forward Sophia Wardman, member of X Factor girlband Belle Amie... and ex Shipwrecked contestant.

Cast your mind back to 2007. Sunday morning hangovers mixed in with easy viewing telly (Hollyoaks, Shipwrecked etc). Sophia graced our screens as a flame haired member of the Tiger tribe. If you can’t remember what she was like, then why not watch it?

These days Sophia (now a blonde) can be seen strutting her stuff on The X Factor She originally auditioned as a solo artist, but was sent home at the end of boot camp. Well I say sent home, she just about managed to get backstage before she was called back on stage with three other girls and told they would be going through as a group. They seem to create groups every year, why not actually scrap groups auditioning all together and put them together within the show instead? Simon Cowell, if you are reading this, it was my idea first.

Sophia’s group made it into the live stages in the show and past the first two eliminations, but past experience tells us girl groups don’t seem to do that well. Only time will tell if this is Sophia's big break, or if stint on Coach Trip beckons...

Where Have I Seen Her Before?

Have you ever found yourself watching a TV programme and wondering “where have I seen them before?,” before spending sleepless nights trying to remember? Well worry no more because we are going to tell you exactly where you have seen them before.

Our first candidate is actress and model Samantha Rowley, who you can currently watch on Seven Days.

Samantha started her television career on five’s Make Me A Supermodel in which she came fourth , before being quickly snapped up by Channel 4 to play the original Clare Devine on Hollyoaks. She only lasted 5 months on the show and was swiftly replaced by Gemma Bissix. Next for Samantha was an appearance on five’s Trust Me I’m a Holiday Rep series 2, a reality show where “celebrities” had to work as a holiday rep on a Greek island. More notable celebs on the show were ex hearsay member Noel & Chef Nancy Lam. Samantha quit after only five days and was replaced by former Royal butler Paul Burrell.

So now you know, she's a failed supermodel, a pretty poor holiday rep and not yet made it as an actress. Facts you can now astound your friends with down the pub.