Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes: "I am a feminist - I write strong women"

Speaking to RadioTimes.com at the launch of his upcoming ITV period drama Belgravia, Fellowes said: "I think I am a feminist in any real way, because I believe in strong women, I enjoy strong women, I write them, I like watching them. I've grown up with them and I've married one. So, in the end, a feminist is someone who believes men and women should both be able to live lives to the max of their potential."

Asked whether he sets out to write female stories, he said: "I think what's important is to tell the public we didn't invent strong women, they have been here since they were fighting the Romans and sometimes you can forget that. But in the past, people had to overcome a lot more difficulties and they are to be saluted for that - that if you had ambitions and you wanted to achieve something, it was tougher, much tougher, and so for those women that managed it..."

Last week it was revealed that Belgravia star Alice Eve had described the show's creator as "a feminist, but he's never said it out loud," adding she found his female characters much more realistic than those of his contemporaries.

The six-part series Belgravia is adapted by Fellowes and will begin on Sunday 15th March 2020 at 9pm on ITV, airing weekly.