Any fan of Downton Abbey would be delighted to be in the centre of the action but being an extra in the costume drama had special meaning for Esther Hepworth.

“I grew up in the village and my grandparents and great-grandparents lived here,” said Esther, who now lives in nearby Witney.

And, dressed in clothes from the 1920s, she was very aware that she was recreating a scene from her family’s history.

“I was really quite overwhelmed,” said Esther. “I was a villager like my grandmother would have been. I stood where she stood.”

She first started watching Downton Abbey when her (now late) father Raymond – “he loved costume dramas” – told her it was set in the village.

It chronicles the ages her paternal forebearers – the Greens – lived through; the first series began in 1912 with the death of the Downton heir in the sinking of the Titanic and dealt with the First World War.

Her greatgrandparents, who lived in the street leading to St Mary’s Church, had seven children: one was killed in the war, another badly wounded and Esther said it affected her own grandfather, Fred, badly, although he didn’t like to speak about it. She has a tattered picture of her grandmother Bess with the words “To Fred from Bess, with love” written on the back which she believes he carried it with him throughout the war.

Esther became an extra for the start of the third series, which begins with a grand wedding at the church where her grandparents – he a carpenter and she “in service” – were married in February 1920. “Which is exactly when the wedding in the show is,” said Esther.

As well as being in the crowd cheering the arrival of the wedding carriage to the church, Esther was also in some scenes in the village. She did two days filming series three and has just completed another two days for series four, which airs in the autumn.

Although she was paid for being an extra, it was the experience that was most important for Esther, who is married with three sons.

“My family and friends are surprised I did something so out of character for me, I’m quite shy really – I stand at the back of the crowd – but I wanted to be part of it,” said Esther.

Her opportunity came when she was helping out in the West Ox Arts Gallery, of which she is a trustee. Administrator Susie Henry told her that she had been contacted by Alex Roe of Castings Collective agency asking her if she would put up a poster calling for extras or knew of anyone who would fit the bill.

“Within minutes, it seemed, he walked in and I said I’d love to take part,” said Esther, 56.

So a bit of fate seemed to be involved in Esther ending up dressed as her grandmother would have been and walking the same streets.

“I’d find myself stood in the square thinking about my family when I’d see a sign saying Ripon five miles and have to remind myself ‘you’re meant to be in Yorkshire (where the fictional Downton is located), not Bampton’.”

The experience has had a lasting influence.

After being a full-time mum and teaching assistant, Esther gained a BA in Fine Art at the De Montfort University’s Banbury campus and now regularly exhibits her art and printmaking.

In the past her work mainly centred on plants and nature but now she has produced works that are inspired by her family history.

“Most of my artwork is inspired by my garden but as part of my degree course, a few years ago, I experimented with different printmaking techniques using old family photos as inspiration, so producing something in relation to Downton was a step on from there, especially as my father’s family were on my mind while I was an extra.”

She has done small prints used as cards from linocuts and a screenprint, using hand drawn/painted images.

“Dressed as a ‘female villager’, I felt as though I was walking in my great grandmother’s footsteps; the family lived in the streets featured in the filming. I really enjoyed the whole experience,” she said.

“As an extra you are paid about £100 a day but I would have been happy just to be part of it all for free!”

BEING AN EXTRA

The call for local people to take part as extras for shots filmed in Bampton asked for those aged 16 to 90 but there were stipulations.

Women had to have hair that was at least shoulder length and not coloured and were told to wear minimal make-up. “They wanted it to be as authentic as possible,” said Esther.

Fittings were done a few days earlier and for her first day of filming – the wedding scene – Esther had to arrive at 6.30am to have her hair done and get in costume.

“Then we had breakfast – the food was good, they fed you really well,” she said.

“There was a lot of sitting around, which I think goes with the territory of being an extra. There were people I knew there and it was interesting to talk to people who make a profession out of being an extra.

“I’d never been on a film set before so it was really interesting to see what was involved.”

For the scene where the carriage arrives at the church, Esther and other extras were lined up by the side of the road “to wave and look excited”.

Then they did it again. And again. And again.

“We had to do the same thing about half a dozen times,” said Esther, whose day filming finished at about 6pm. But she was delighted to take part in other general scenes.

“It’s still quite exciting to me but if you were doing it a lot you’d learn to take a good book. My part didn’t end up on the cutting room floor but if you blink you miss me.”