Downton Abbey season 3 is well underway, and it’s going down better than ever with fans of the show. In a recent interview, Michelle Dockery has talked in depth about why the show is so popular.

"What it boils down to is the writing," she told Interview Magazine. "Julian is incredibly talented. He's created 18 lead characters, each with their own story lines. The audience gets a nostalgic feeling for the period. It's a time without the internet, without mobile phones. It was an easier sort of period that people look back on and find heartwarming." Since the first episode on September, 16 2012, many a Sunday night has been spent snuggled on the sofa catching up on Downton. It has received critical acclaim from television critics and has won numerous accolades in its entire broadcast, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries, and it was also recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English television series of 2011.

"In the first season, we see the three sisters, and pretty much all they do is change clothes three times a day—once for breakfast, once for lunch, and then again at dinner. And they're bored,” explained Dockery, who portrays Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama. "What was wonderful about the second season is that because of the First World War, women became far more practical and useful. The character of Edith, for example, who helps care for wounded soldiers. But once the war is over, she finds herself at loose ends." Downton continues this Sunday, October 21.