You’d think that a minor promotional mishap with a successful TV show would take a back seat to, you know, everything else that’s going on in the world. Not so, naive friends. Not when the show in question is Downton Abbey and the promotional mishap – what has now been dubbed Water Bottle-gate.

Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith
Downton's characters might be stuffy aristocrats, but the cast members know how to laugh at themselves.

 

The cast of the PBS period drama have responded to the minor media storm raised by a plastic water bottle appearing in one of the promo shots for Season 4. They definitely didn’t take the blunder to heart. The original photo was deleted, but a new one appeared in its place – this one featured most of the Downton cast, all holding water bottles and giving the camera their best “oops” faces. Check it out below. See, they may play stuffy, turn-of-the-century aristocrats onscreen, but the actors actually know how to laugh at themselves.

 

But that’s not all – they’ve turned it into something positive. They’re using the publicity generated by the whole thing to endorse WaterAid – a charity, working to supply sustainable clean water and safe toilets to the world’s poorest communities.

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"After seeing the reaction the picture caused earlier this week, the cast and crew came up with the idea of turning some of this attention towards an issue around water that really matters. They hope that by posing for this picture they will be able to raise awareness and amplify the work of international charity - WaterAid."

 

WaterAid urges fans of the show to donate online or text WATER to 70007 to donate £3 to the cause.