The cast of TV’s Sunday night smash hit drama Downton Abbey have been filming here in Oxfordshire, in the picturesque village of Bampton. And it seems star of the show Hugh Bonneville is well acquainted with county hospitality. “Having served, my favourite waitress would take two steps back and place one hand across her stomach as if she was about to either bow or vomit. Thankfully she did neither,” he said, recalling a meal at an Oxfordshire hotel. But the Insider wonders whether this stiff and starchy summary came from Hugh, or his on-screen character, the Earl of Grantham, pictured. Last week the Insider revealed the lengths Oxford city councillors were going to in the name of super-toilet research. Oscar Van Nooijen reported the benefits of piped music, as heard in a Berlin bathroom. At 50p to spend a penny in the soon to be revamped Gloucester Green lavatories, the experience better be exemplary… or Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing will be the tune users are humming. All eyes will be on County Hall next month when long-time council leader and “most powerful politician in Oxfordshire behind David Cameron” (to quote his website quoting “the local media”) steps down after more than a decade in office. But although Keith Mitchell has spoken of succession planning in the past, it appears no clear favourite has emerged in the race to replace him as county council leader. Thame’s Nick Carter and Bladon’s Ian Hudspeth split the vote in a leadership challenge last year – and look likely to throw their hats in the ring again, along with long-serving deputy leader David Robertson. But the Insider hears others may also be jostling for pole position. It will all be decided at the Tory group meeting in April. Watch this space. ONE Tory councillor who has ruled himself out of the running, Arash Fatemian, celebrated his 1,000th day as a councillor last week by writing an epic blog entry culminating with the most important piece of advice he was been given in the job: how to work the County Hall coffee machine. Presumably the fellow Conservative who revealed this nugget was a veteran of lengthy County Hall talking-shops. It seems Arash must have taken it on board though, and made frequent trips – his blog post was 1,557 words long. The Insider has been oiling his rusty bicycle on hearing the news the Government is investing in public bike pumps in a bid to get us all back in the saddle. The total cost of the biking and walking schemes across southern England is £30m. But if you do come a cropper, at least you can be reassured you’ll be able to fix any pesky punctures you suffer pedalling over pot-holed roads between overcrowded hospitals looking for one with the cash to patch you up.