'Downton Abbey' creator credits Kate Middleton for show's success

When Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes welcomed the Duchess of Cambridge to the set, he credited her with helping make the show a global hit

Fellowes said to pregnant Kate Middleton, who was visiting Ealing Studios to tour the sets and meet the Downton cast, in his opening speech that one of the hardest things about selling a new show or movie or anything is just letting the people know it's there, Deadline.com reported.

Fellowes added that it so happens that just as they were trying to shift Downton in America, Middleton actually made a visit and someone asked her if she ever heard of a show called Downton Abbey, to which she said she'd heard of it, watched it and enjoyed it.

He noted that this went into the media like an exocet missile and soon all of America and most of the world knew it and as a result their challenge faded away.

The royal, who spent two hours at Ealing where Downton is shooting its 6th season, was invited to tour the set and accepted so she could help celebrate what is one of the most successful products of the UK's creative industries and one of Britain's greatest cultural exports, aides told the media.

The Duchess of Cambridge learned that Mrs Patmore's portrayer, Lesley Niccol, is not a real cook, and all of the kitchen cabinets are glued shut, except for one.