CANNES — PBS “Masterpiece Theatre” boss Rebecca Eaton revealed that President Barack Obama almost ripped Lady Grantham’s dress at a White House event that drew the “Downton Abbey” cast.
Obama accidentally stepped on the gown worn by actress Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley on the popular British series, Eaton told ad execs Tuesday at the Cannes Lions festival.
Eaton, who spoke as part of a panel along with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, said her core audience of 60-something women loves shows about love lost.
That might also explain her other job: helping British hottie Benedict Cumberbatch find a new love interest. She wouldn’t say whom the “Sherlock” actor has met, but she said it’s time for all those “Cumberbitches” — the name used by his huge base of female followers — to move on.
Speaking of Obama, Dowd revealed that she got him the first season of “Mad Men” when he was a presidential candidate because she felt he would connect with its main theme — solitude. She also said he told her that she was “irritating.”
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was supposed to be on the panel but was a no-show because of “production issues.”
But Dowd, who once dated Sorkin, passed along his advice for storytellers: “When your main character is up against a wall, shove him up against it harder.”
Eaton asked Dowd how she prepares for writing. Dowd responded that she can’t compose her columns barefoot; the copy only flows when she’s wearing shoes.