HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters. The art works entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after she combined her love of drawing and Downton Abbey. 'I've been painting portraits of animals in historical costume for some time,” explains New Yorker Kim. “I've taken some familiar and beloved characters whose demeanour, personality, and appearance seemed to translate to certain breeds of dog or cat. 'I got to thinking about Mr Bates' character and storyline, and Brendan Coyle's facial structure, and how he could look hard but also had the warmest, kindest eyes.

Other great stories
100K BARONESS THATCHER COLLECTION

WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .

VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG

A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .

REAL-LIFE LITTLE BO PEEP AGE 20 DEVOTED TO HER 4 PET SHEEP

Meet the real-life Little Bo Peep - a young woman who spends her days tending to her four pet SHEEP .

NINJA RED SQUIRREL

A NINJA red squirrel cuts a dashing figure as the little fella jumps up to ten-feet between treetops in the Yorkshire Dales .

EYE PAINTER

MEET the painter who makes his living squirting paint from his EYES .

MILLION DOLLAR MARILYN - WOMAN MAKES FORTUNE AS LOOKALIKE

A former cosmetic rep who swapped make-up for a career as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike has pocketed a staggering $4million (£2,630,000) as a full-time doppelgänger .

SUN ALLERGY MUM NICKNAMED 'VAMPIRE' BY KIDS

While most Brits look forward to long hot summer days, a mum-of-six will be staying in the shade - as she is allergic to the sun .

OWLS ARE MASTERS OF DISGUISE IN INDIAN FOREST

HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .

WOMAN TOLD BY EMIRATES STAFF SHE’D BE ‘BANGED UP ABROAD’ OVER DIAZEPAM

A woman with a fear of flying claims she was humiliated after an Emirates airline staff member told her she could ‘go to prison for four years’ for possessing diazepam medication .

BABY MAY PARALYSE ME AND LEAVE ME IN LABOUR PAIN FOREVER

A young mum-to-be who was told she would never fall pregnant due to a rare condition has decided to keep her miracle baby even though his birth could leave her paralysed and in pain forever .

HUBBY SAVED ME FROM BEING MAULED BY NEIGHBOUR’S FRIEND WHO TORE CHUNK OUT OF MY CHEEK AND LEFT ME SCARRED FOR LIFE

A mother-of-one has revealed how a neighbour’s friend ‘mauled’ her face, leaving her scarred for life .

SOMERSET FLOODING

Villages on the Somerset Levels have faced weeks of flooding with no respite from the conditions in sight .