Actress Raquel Cassidy's father convinced her odd invite was a kidnap plot

Downton Abbey star Raquel Cassidy feared an unusual invite to open an old folks home in Seattle, Washington was a veiled kidnap attempt.

The British actress Raquel, who plays Phyllis Baxter in the period TV series and movie, receives plenty of requests to attend glitzy showbiz events, but one offer was a bit of a head scratcher.

"My agent rang me and said I was invited to open an old folks home in Seattle - an offer I’ve never received before or since," she told Forbes.

"I didn’t quite believe it was real, so I did what any sane person would do - I rang my dad. And he couldn’t stop saying, 'Why you?'

"I kept saying, 'I don’t know why. Maybe I wasn’t their first choice? But if it’s real I want to go'. Then he (dad) thought maybe it was an elaborate plan to kidnap me. So now we’ve gone from, who could possibly want me, to international kidnapping.

"Later, I called and told my friend about the offer, and she (also) said, 'Why you?' It was a resoundingly unflattering day."

Cassidy decided to take a chance and signed up for the unusual trip, discovering it was just what the invite suggested - bosses at the old folks home and many of the guests were huge Downton Abbey fans.