The first episode of (Season 1, Episode 1) originally aired on September 26, 2010 , on ITV in the UK. Set in April 1912 , the series begins with a world-changing event that throws the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants into turmoil. Plot Overview
Below stairs, the household is stirred by the arrival of John Bates , the Earl's new valet and former Boer War comrade. Bates walks with a limp due to a war injury, leading several staff members—most notably the footman Thomas Barrow and lady's maid Sarah O'Brien—to scheme against him to protect their own advancement. Key Cast & Characters The first episode of (Season 1, Episode 1)
Because Lord Grantham (Robert Crawley) has only three daughters and the estate is under a strict "entail," the title and fortune cannot pass to them. The new heir is revealed to be Matthew Crawley , a distant cousin and "middle-class" solicitor from Manchester—a choice that shocks the family, especially the Dowager Countess, Violet. Bates walks with a limp due to a