The creator of Downton Abbey has stated that British people exhibit a ‘curious double standard’ by disliking the wealthy while simultaneously aspiring to wealth themselves.

Julian Fellowes criticised attitudes towards money, wealth and success in the UK in comparison to the United States. 

He said in an interview with the Radio Times he thinks it is ‘ungenerous’ not to admire people who have done well for themselves. 

The Tory peer commented: ‘Britain possesses this strange contradiction of despising the wealthy and anyone who has achieved significant success, yet still desiring it.

‘I don’t get it. It seems to me ungenerous not to admire people who have done very well.’

He continued: ‘Even when I was a struggling actor – which, I assure you, is not the easiest of lives – meeting someone who had succeeded and become a movie star, I would think, ‘Good luck to them’.’

Lord Fellowes made the comments ahead of the release of the grand finale of Downton Abbey – which is coming to an end after 15 years on our screens. 

The beloved series depicts the struggles of the aristocratic Crawley family as they grapple with financial troubles and social disgrace.

The final installment will see Lady Mary Talbot, who is played by Michelle Dockery, take charge of the great estate at the start of the 1930s. 

Last February, The Mail revealed the period drama would be making a surprise comeback for a seventh series.

The return of the show, which covered the many societal changes and world events between 1912 and 1928, is coming this September.

It will star Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert

James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy also feature.

The hugely successful period drama started on ITV in 2011 and has spawned six seasons and two movies.

The first two films, released in 2019 and 2022, grossed a combined $287.3 million worldwide.

Lord Fellowes has won two Emmy awards for the show and he has also created the popular series The Gilded Age, set in 1880s New York. 

It emerged earlier this year that he now is largely confined to a wheelchair after the return of a devastating medical condition.

‘It’s true that I do spend too much time in a wheelchair these days,’ Lord Fellowes told the Mail’s Richard Eden. 

‘About 40 years ago, I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, probably resulting from an early slipped disc. 

‘I had an operation and, after quite a long convalescence, I was well again, dancing, riding and the rest.

Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, I was informed that the condition had returned; following another surgery, I had to accept that my recuperative abilities at 75 were not what they had been at 35. Which, I suppose, is unsurprising.’

He added: ‘I am not entirely immobile, but I do have to remain sitting for most of the time. I don’t consider myself unlucky in this. 

‘Other people have far worse to put up with.’