The arrival of a handsome stranger promises to bring some romantic intrigue to Downton Abbey this Christmas.
The cast of Downton Abbey Photo: ITV
9:21PM GMT 22 Nov 2011
Nigel Havers plays suave Lord Hepworth, an old family friend who joins the cast of the festive special.
He attends a Christmas shooting party and charms Lady Rosamund (Samantha Bond), wealthy widow and sister to Earl Granthem (Hugh Bonneville). But Dame Maggie Smith’s formidable Dowager Countess becomes suspicious about his motives for coming to Downton.
A programme insider said: “Lord Hepworth is at the centre of the Christmas storyline. Let’s just say he is not all that he seems.”
The two-hour special is set at the end of 1919 and viewers will see tensions running high between Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), her true love Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) and fiancé Sir Richard Carlisle (Iain Glen).
He attends a Christmas shooting party and charms Lady Rosamund (Samantha Bond), wealthy widow and sister to Earl Granthem (Hugh Bonneville). But Dame Maggie Smith’s formidable Dowager Countess becomes suspicious about his motives for coming to Downton.
A programme insider said: “Lord Hepworth is at the centre of the Christmas storyline. Let’s just say he is not all that he seems.”
The two-hour special is set at the end of 1919 and viewers will see tensions running high between Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), her true love Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) and fiancé Sir Richard Carlisle (Iain Glen).
The other new addition to the cast is Sharon Small as Marigold, a maid to Lady Rosamund.
Downton fans are engaged in fevered speculation about the plot twists in the Christmas special. Some suggested that the pheasant shoot would be a device for Sir Richard to shoot his rival, Matthew, or vice versa.
Others were delighted by the presence of Lord Grantham’s dog, Isis, in the photograph. The labrador and her predecessor, Pharaoh, are so popular with viewers that they have their own fan page on Facebook.
A third series of Downton Abbey is in the works, set in the Roaring Twenties. Series two drew an average of 11.5 million viewers for each episode, making it the most popular drama series of the decade.
The BBC has won the Christmas ratings battle in recent years but Downton could halt that trend.
Despite being a ratings winner, the most recent series was criticised for zipping through storylines, while the constant interruption by advertising breaks irritated audiences.
Julian Fellowes, the writer of Downton, defended the show. “People wouldn’t enjoy it if it moved at a glacial pace,” he argued. “I hate dramas where you can go into the kitchen, make a sandwich, come back and have missed nothing.”
As for the commercial breaks – which included a much-criticised campaign by the insurance firm, Aviva – Fellowes said: “It would be ideal to watch Downton without the adverts, but without them it wouldn’t exist.
“It’s not great that the narrative is broken up by ads, but it has become part of the phenomenon
The Telegraph
Others were delighted by the presence of Lord Grantham’s dog, Isis, in the photograph. The labrador and her predecessor, Pharaoh, are so popular with viewers that they have their own fan page on Facebook.
A third series of Downton Abbey is in the works, set in the Roaring Twenties. Series two drew an average of 11.5 million viewers for each episode, making it the most popular drama series of the decade.
The BBC has won the Christmas ratings battle in recent years but Downton could halt that trend.
Despite being a ratings winner, the most recent series was criticised for zipping through storylines, while the constant interruption by advertising breaks irritated audiences.
Julian Fellowes, the writer of Downton, defended the show. “People wouldn’t enjoy it if it moved at a glacial pace,” he argued. “I hate dramas where you can go into the kitchen, make a sandwich, come back and have missed nothing.”
As for the commercial breaks – which included a much-criticised campaign by the insurance firm, Aviva – Fellowes said: “It would be ideal to watch Downton without the adverts, but without them it wouldn’t exist.
“It’s not great that the narrative is broken up by ads, but it has become part of the phenomenon
The Telegraph
