A FAN of one of the biggest period dramas in recent years decided to get a better look at how the other half live when designing a new chess set.

Calvin Evans, who lives in Hollymount, Worcester, has spent hours lovingly studying and designing a new Downton Abbey chess set, modelling each figure after a character in the show.

But he realised that when designing the set, it isn't all black and white.

"I've done a lot of things over the years, including managing the Witley Court estate, and now I run a cleaning company. But I'm very creative and when I get chance I like to have a go at making things and trying something new. I know people love themed chess sets and I hadn't seen a Downton one and although I don't play chess, I really love the show, so I thought I'd have a go.

"I really had to study the individual pieces and think about who I wanted each piece to be," the 52-year-old said.

"For the characters who are quite brave I made them knights. For those who are more dithering, I made them the Bishop.

"Because the series is all about the two separate worlds in the Downton household, with the family and their servants, and it's very much 'upstairs downstairs', that translated very well to the chess board.

"I got a friend of mine, who is also a local artist, to sculpt the pieces and I'm really, really happy with how it all turned out. A lot of friends and family have commented on how much they love it and how you can recognise the characters, which is what I wanted."

Mr Evans said he approached the team behind the ITV drama to see if they would be interested in working with him to sell the product.

"I've put several thousand pounds in to this work, and so many hours. Carnival Films, who co-produce Downton, were originally interested in working with me. Ideally I need to find someone to help me with the manufacturing and distributing side of things, so that's my next step really.

"I think that if it was to be sold it would do well, because the show is not only huge over here in England, but in China, America, and so many other countries."