Taxidermy rats used for Downton Abbey spoof, because why not

A bunch of dead rats are (sort of) reanimated in a new YouTube series spoof of the period drama Downton Abbey, which premieres tonight in downtown Hamilton.

It's called Downtown Alley, and you can watch several episodes on YouTube right now. Even by some very lenient standards of weird, this is weird.

• Hamilton taxidermist makes 'cute forever friends' with dead rats

The project is the brainchild of William Boyd-Wilson, also known in Hamilton as Cadillac Bill. He hosts a local cable talk show in Hamilton, which is similarly unafraid to venture into bizarre territory.

The project uses some of taxidermist Ankixa Risk's earliest creations. She runs a business called Casual Taxidermy, in which she teaches people how to do taxidermy, with a focus on rats, sometimes in little costumes.

She says Boyd-Wilson approached her about using her work after she appeared on his talk show.

"He instantly just said, 'These are so wacky. I need to use these.' So I gave him a bunch and said go to town," she laughed.

"It's definitely a bit bizarre."

Show stalwarts are renamed, here — Lady Edith becomes Lady Eat It, and Mrs. Patmore becomes Mrs. Ratmore.

Though you can watch the episodes online now, they'll premiere in public tonight at the Casbah, in between performances from the likes of Ginger St. James, Lori Yates and Tim Gibbons.

Risk won't be able to make too many comparisons to Downton Abbey though when she's watching tonight — she hasn't owned a TV for the better part of a decade, so she's never seen the show.

"It's all completely new to me," she said. "It'll be an interesting evening."