22 May 2013

 Over ten million people tuned-in to watch the trials and tribulations of the Grantham-Crawley family, but how many of us would have willingly stepped into the shoes of the Downton residents?

And if we were able to travel back 100 years, would our existence be one of poverty or plenty? Would we have been a maid, chef or butler, or would we have lived the opulent lifestyle of the lord or lady of the house perhaps?

In an ambitious new living history series the Welsh-language public service broadcaster S4C will be pulling out all the stops with this very experiment in Llanerchaeron House; an 18th century Welsh gentry estate in west Wales – Y Plas.

Who would take the uncertain leap to live and work as our forbearers did a hundreds of years ago? A fair few of us it seems. Production Company Boom Pictures received dozens of applications, and have now whittled them down to the last fifty.

On Sunday 16 June the short-listed fifty will all be put to the test in order to find the final 20 who will be thrust back in time to live at Y Plas. The successful few will step back in time and live as the people of Llanerchaeron House lived in the 18th c.

However, while the successful 20 will be sure of a place at Y Plas - in an added twist the new residents of the National Trust country house won't know which role they will play in the house until the first day of filming. Whether they’re destined for a life of rags or riches, they’ll have a nervous wait ahead of them.

So brass polish and pearl beads at the ready this September.

Follow the latest on this series on Twitter @yplas1