It’s that time again for the annual BBC Showcase where myself and about 600 of my closest friends around the globe get the opportunity to screen what that Beeb has in store for the worldwide television landscape in the next couple of years. After 20 years, we leave the lovely (at this time of the year) seaside town of Brighton in the UK and head north to Liverpool for the first time for this years screening.

We’ll be reporting daily from our Liverpool screening booth at the 2012 BBC Showcase as what we can’t live without in the over 2500 hours of programs available for screening during our stay so check back often as you can to see what you are not going to be able to live without in the coming year on public television (and in the UK).

In the meantime, while I’m camped on a plane for 9 hours, enjoy the clip below. Who knew Rod Stewart was a Dowager Countess fan back in 1971? And, please remember, the Dowager is a professional. Do not try this at home. One must practice to achieve that ‘Upstairs tone’.

Watch Downton Abbey: The Best Maggie Moments on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.