The Trial of Christine Keeler

Working Lives: Meet costume designer Pam Downe

Pam Downe designed the fabulous 1960s outfits for BBC One drama The Trial of Christine Keeler, a new take on the Profumo affair, the sex scandal that rocked a British government and was a defining moment in that influential decade.

She began her career as assistant to Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell on Derek Jarman’s The Last of England.

 

What does the job involve?

Preparation time is anything from six weeks for contemporary drama to 12 weeks for period pieces. Scripts, though, are often written to the wire.