Downton Abbey season 6: Tom Branson returns in new pictures from set

SUNDAY EXPRESS
By NEELA DEBNATH
PUBLISHED: 12:55, Thu, Jun 18, 2015 | UPDATED: 14:34, Thu, Jun 18, 2015



Tom, who is the husband of the late Lady Sybil, was headed to America with their daughter when we last saw him in the Downton Christmas special but it seems that he is back for one last hurrah.

Irish actor Allen, 34, was spotted on filming on set in scenes featuring what appears to be a motor race, suggesting Tom could have a hand in helping out with the cars thanks to his mechanical skills.

Filming took place at the Brooklands Museum Near Weybridge, Surrey which was the former site of the Brooklands racing circuit and aerodrome.

There were plenty of extras dressed in 1920s costumes, suggesting that the series will still be set in the same era rather than doing any jumps forward in time as it has previously between series.

Actors Matthew Goode, who plays Henry Talbot, and Tom Cullen, who stars as Lord Gillingham, were also spotted filming scenes, hinting that the pair could be racing in a bid to win Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) affections.

Only last week the "downstairs" cast reunited to film scenes in Oxfordshire that saw the characters playing cricket together on their say off from looking after the Abbey.

It was announced that the series will be receiving a special Bafta honour later this year for its outstanding global success and flying the flag for British drama around the globe.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/585340/Downton-Abbey-season-6-Tom-Branson-Allen-Leech-Lady-Mary

‘Downton Abbey’ recap - **** makes her escape!!! (SPOILERS)

WASHINGTON POST
By Joe Heim February 8 at 10:00 PM

 

After a dully-dull Downton last week, the show returned Sunday night with its best episode in ages, filled with intrigue, nasty sniping and a number of critical plot revelations.

Where to begin? Well, Mr. Bates almost certainly didn’t kill Mr. Green. Edith is officially a pre-marital widow. Lord and Lady Grantham are back to sharing the same bed. Horse races don’t always end with the death of a rider even when you think they will. And Lady Mary has all the sympathy of a mongoose. Not bad for a 50-minute episode.

(Ooops, wrong Mr. Bates)

The show opened with a telegram arriving for Lady Edith. Stop. Telegrams were the text messages of their day. Stop. This one informs her that the business partner of her lover, the missing Mr. Gregson, is coming to Downton with news. Stop.

Everyone at the Abbey assumes, correctly it turns out, that the news is bad. Mr. Gregson, the father of Edith’s child, has been offed by Adolf’s gang of Brownshirt thugs in Germany. The news confirms Edith’s fears and she is understandably upset. Her sister Mary? Not so much. “Well of course it’s terrible,” she says to Anna. “But what did she think he was doing? Living in a tree?”

Oh Mary, you are a dear.

I’m afraid that’s just the beginning of her awfulness this week. In Edith’s moment of despair (admittedly, she has a lot of those), Merciless Mary sharpens her heels for an extra kick or two. More about that in a bit.

The Dowager Countess hears from beanless Shrimpy that he may be close to finding Prince Kuragin’s wife alive in Hong Kong. The DC, who had a fling with the noble Russian refugee many moons ago, decides she should travel to his rundown tenement in York to tell him the news about his wife. Kuragin is not exactly elated to hear it. I think he would have been happier if his wife met the same fate as poor Mr. Gregson.

The randy Russian is much more interested in rekindling the magic with the Dowager Countess. He tries to work his charm. “I wanted you from the moment I first saw you. More than mortal man ever wanted woman,” he tells her. It’s a good line, Kuragin, but the DC isn’t that easy.



Lord Grantham is still feeling quite frosty toward his wife. He found another man in their bedroom, after all. Even though she claims nothing happened, it’s not the kind of thing you just casually dismiss. Cora wants to patch things up, but she’ll need quite a bit of super glue to put this all back together. She visits him in his dressing room to ask him to return to their bedroom. Lord G refuses, but Cora is having none of it.

“If you can honestly say that you have never let a flirtation get out of hand since we were married, if you have never given a woman the wrong impression, then by all means, stay away,” she tells him.

“Otherwise I expect you back in my room tonight.” Tell him, Cora! Grantham huffs and puffs and then pulls himself out of the tiny, tiny bed, tucks his tail between his legs and heads off to join her.

Speaking of sad puppies, I’m worried about Isis. I don’t know what’s going to happen to her, but I think we’re in for an Old Yeller moment later this year. Get your hankies ready.

Big news this week: Mary is off to York for haircut. It’s a mod bob! Now she’ll no longer have to go upstairs to take off her hat.

The haircut sets the scene for another splendid showdown in the Downton drawing room (which I believe was designed to look like the office of Congressman Aaron Schock). No, Bunting is not involved. But it turns out the regular crew is perfectly capable of creating their own drama. Edith is still mourning Gregson, but Mary seems to think this is a swell time to show off her new do. This causes a stir. Grandma gets in a dry dig. “Ah, it is you,” she says. “I thought it was a man wearing your clothes.”

Edith can’t comprehend how inconsiderate Mary is being. “I’m amazed that even you would choose the day after I learned the man I loved is dead to try out a new fashion,” she says. “And if that weren’t enough, you’ve planned a jolly picnic for Saturday. Am I really expected to join in?”

“Hopefully not, as you usually spoil everything,” Mary replies icily. Mary will have her own wing in hell.




(Again, these very rude pictures were provided by Karen V. Wasylowski, not the distinguished Washington Post)

READ THE REST HERE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/02/08/downton-abbey-recap-edith-makes-her-move-and-mary-is-so-so-cold/

Downton Abbey Christmas special recap – it worked as retro festive wallpaper (SPOILERS)

THE GUARDIAN
Viv Groskop
Thursday 25 December 2014 18.00 EST



The labrador’s backside is back for Christmas. And let’s hope it’s not just for Christmas, eh? Actually, my Christmas wish would be that it is just for Christmas. Because if this convoluted outing proved anything, it’s that this series has outstayed its welcome. Unlike Isis the dog, whose absence in this Christmas special finally disproved the conspiracy theory that she was just absent from the last episode to tease us. Sorry, people, but Isis really is dead.

As always this was a beautifully made and wonderfully acted confection showcasing all the shortcomings of the Downton Abbey brand. In the opening sequences, it felt as if the actors had been directed to speak the dialogue slowly and carefully in order to help viewers a) worse for the cooking sherry and b) unfamiliar with Downton (as probably many Christmas-only viewers were – lucky them). There was a lot of signposting of characters and history, which only served to flag up that there are often far too many people involved and far too many things going on.

As a standalone piece for anyone not following the series, I suspect this outing worked rather well as retro festive wallpaper. And there can surely be no finer features on screen than those of Matthew Goode (Wickham in last year’s Death Comes to Pemberley and also a series regular in The Good Wife), seen fleetingly here flirting with Lady Mary and making a Dukes of Hazzard-style getaway in a fast motorcar. If he is coming in as the dark-haired replacement for Dan Stevens, that will be a happy event indeed.

For those of us who have been suffering the joys and pains of the past five series, it tied up a paltry number of loose ends (Dame Maggie’s Russian tryst, Rose’s uncomfortable relationship with her new inlaws, Edith not knowing that her father knows about the Impostor Child). And Uncle Julian did at least give us the payoff we’ve been anticipating since last year’s Christmas episode: the marriage of Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson. Hooray!



But unbelievably (or totally believably if you are used to the snail’s pace of Downton) he left the “Who killed rapist valet Green?” plot open. We don’t even really know if it definitely isn’t Anna or definitely isn’t Bates. My money, despite the pub landlord’s evidence, is still on Bates. But surely by now we deserve resolution on this? We found out Green was dead on 10 November 2013. Seriously, Uncle Julian, how long are you going to leave this hanging? Do you even know who killed him? I suspect no one cares any more.

There were some pleasing details. The Russian Silver Fox! Midnight skating to the strains of the balaika! Setting sail in the prince’s yacht! The manic depressive Russian princess (Jane Lapotaire) was superb and, as every guest is forced to on this show, really made the most of her three sentences. Alun Armstrong as The Evil Butler, Stowell (yes, I know, I heard it as “Stole” and “Stowe” the whole way through, too), was wonderful: “I am not a novice anywhere.” And there was plenty of Molesley, which is always a delight. But what a missed opportunity! When Molesley was rifling in Anna’s drawers, I was convinced he would find the Ill-Defined Contraceptive Device. So disappointing.



But let’s draw a veil over that and concentrate on the best marriage proposal ever from a man resembling a cautious and lovable badger: “Well, that’s the point. I do want to be stuck with you ...” Who wouldn’t drink to Mr Carson’s happiness on Christmas Day?



READ MORE HERE: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/downton-abbey-christmas-special-recap-it-worked-as-retro-festive-wallpaper

'Downton Abbey' Season 5: The First Trailer, With Passion And Fire (spoilers)

FORBES
Neil Midgley
Contributor
August 30, 2014



A surprise tonight from ITV in Britain.

Before the season opener of The X Factor – still a very big event in the British television calendar, and all the more so since Simon Cowell returns to the judging panel tonight for the first time in four years – ITV ‘premiered’ the trailer for the upcoming season 5 of Downton Abbey:

The trailer confirms some of what’s already been reported – such as the impending fire that burns through the great house itself – and teases forbidden passions and new characters (such as the guest roles for Richard E Grant and Anna Chancellor).

And it features the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) delivering the chilling line: ‘Our grandchild is about to be stolen from us forever.’ Does he mean Sybbie or George? Or is this perhaps an even more explosive scene, when he has discovered Edith’s secret?

READ MORE HERE: http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilmidgley/2014/08/30/downton-abbey-season-5-the-first-trailer-with-passion-and-fire/

SPOILERS! It's Downton confidential! Fresh scandals, new secrets, it's our very sneaky peek at Series 5

MAIL ON LINE
By CHRIS HASTINGS
PUBLISHED: 17:38 EST, 9 August 2014 | UPDATED: 04:22 EST, 10 August 201

For Downton Abbey’s 12 million fans, the waiting is almost over.

In just four days, journalists from around the world will descend on London to watch the first episode of the new series.

The producers of Britain’s most successful drama export are keeping the show’s explosive plot lines a closely guarded secret.

As Downton devotees know only too well, trying to work out what happens next can be as complicated as Lady Mary’s love life.

But The Mail on Sunday has sifted through all the available evidence – including photographs from the set – in a bid to work out what the future holds for the Crawleys and their servants.

The fifth series of Downton Abbey is set in 1924 when Britain’s first Labour Government threatens to exacerbate simmering tensions both above and below stairs.

Several of the servants – including the normally reliable kitchen maid Daisy and the feckless Jimmy – are determined to better themselves.

Not even the generally unflappable Carson can protect the old ways from the winds of change. He says in a trailer: ‘I feel a shaking of the ground I stand on. The nature of life is not permanence, but flux. Things are changing.’

A series of scandals from the past – including the brutal rape of lady’s maid Anna Bates and Lady Edith’s secret love child – remain buried beneath the surface but have the potential to change life at Downton for ever.

The house is now fit to burst with secrets and the arrival of outsiders threatens to bring the carefully constructed façade crashing down.

At least one of Downton’s characters appears to have found themselves behind bars.

A female inhabitant of Downton was last week filmed getting out of a car and approaching the gates of the fictitious HMP York. Is she Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt)?

And could the visit be linked to her brutal rape at the hands of Lord Gillingham’s former valet Green, played by Nigel Harman?

Some fans suspect Green may have been murdered, although he is supposed to have died in a freak road accident in London’s West End.

The prime suspect for any killing would be Anna’s husband Bates (Brendan Coyle) who is known to have been in London around the time of Green’s death.
Or could the prison visit be linked to the mystery disappearance of Lady Edith’s lover Michael Gregson?


ttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2720864/It-s-Downton-confidential-Fresh-scandals-new-secrets-s-sneaky-peek-Series-5.html#ixzz3A0WT1dGs 
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Downton Abbey's Lady Edith Will Face Even More Devastation Next Season

VANITY FAIR
Julie Miller
July 29, 2014



Last week we learned that Downton Abbey will finally give Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess the air time she deserves with an especially juicy plot. (Our Downton mole tells us that the story arc involves a character suddenly resurfacing from her past.) And now, we learn that the makers of Downton, somehow believing that Laura Carmichael’s Lady Edith has not been through enough personal tragedy, will heap even more pain and heartbreak her way during the show’s upcoming fifth season.

We, somewhat naively, thought that after Edith was left at the altar by her handicapped love interest, knocked up by a married man, and consequently abandoned to deliver her bastard child alone, the Downton Abbey writers would—I don’t know—cut the middle Crawley sister a break. But no, in a new panel interview, the cast revealed that Edith will be abused even more than usual.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/downton-abbey-season-five-edith

'Downton Abbey' Season 4 Episode 6 Spoilers: An Unwelcome Visitor Returns [Video]

THE LATINO POST
Jessica Michele Herring Feb 04, 2014 01:57 PM EST



On the next episode, "Downton's drove of pigs arrive, Robert departs, an unwelcome visitor appears, and illness descends. Mary and Blake may have found common ground, but Edith faces her troubles alone."

Watch the promo for the next episode below, which airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on PBS.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.latinopost.com/articles/3783/20140204/downton-abbey-season-4-episode-6-spoilers-an-unwelcome-visitor-returns-video.htm

Downton Abbey Series 4 Spoilers: (PICTURES)

UNREALITY PRIMETIME
November 7th, 2013 by Anna Howell.

It’s hard to believe that this Sunday will see the last instalment of the current series of Downton Abbey, but before the depressions starts sinking in we still have a whopper of an episode to look forward to – and we have some pics to show you in advance!

We were all left shocked by the fact the not only is Lady Edith pregnant, but that she is not married to the father as he is not only missing, but still married to someone else!

Last week’s episode saw Edith (Laura Carmichael) confide in her aunt Rosamund (Samantha Bond) the news as well as enlisting her company while she visited an illegal doctor to have the problem solved.

However, when sat waiting to be seen Edith made a snap decision not to go ahead with the termination, running out of the building, leaving us all wondering just what she was going to do next!

As well as pictures of some of the downstairs staff there is also a selection of pictures from a Downton sports day which seems to have most people in jolly good spirits, but being the final episode we can’t help but wonder if the joy will last! Finally and another hot piece of gossip for you is that, after their secret date last week, Lady Rose (Lily James) is planning to marry jazz singer Jack Ross (Gary Carr), the show’s first ever black character.


READ MORE HERE: http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/downton-abbey-series-4-see-spoiler-pictures-weeks-finale/

'Downton Abbey' Season 3 [SPOILERS, TRAILER] Finale: Future Of Thomas Jeopardized? By Bobby Pollier, (ENSTARZ)

The PBS British-American period drama "Downton Abbey" has continued to garner the attention of millions of viewers worldwide. Nearing the end of its third season, the show has recently released information on its finale. According to ITV, the latest details on the upcoming 90-minute Christmas episode state the following: "There is excitement in the house and village as the annual cricket match approaches, and it brings out Robert's competitive side. As Violet's great niece Rose arrives, a trip to London reveals there is more to her than meets the eye. Thomas's future is in Carson's hands, but Bates may be an unlikely ally. What secrets are Mary and Matthew holding back from each other?"




Actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays the role of Robert Crawley, had previously spoken to TV Line regarding his take on the "Downton Abbey" finale.

"It goes out to Christmas, but it's not set at Christmas. It has a very different flavor [and] lots of thrills and spills along the way."

Along those same lines of praise, Brendan Coyle (John Bates) had also added his take on season three's highly-anticipated installment.

"It's a very, very romantic and deeply heartbreaking. It's very Downton."



READ MORE: http://www.enstarz.com/articles/8847/20121102/downton-abbey-season-3-spoilers-trailer-finale.htm

DOWNTON ABBEY: Spoiler alert: Downton Abbey fever strikes again as Lady Edith films wedding scenes as she prepares to walk down the aisle By DAILY MAIL REPORTER PUBLISHED: 03:37 EST, 27 April 2012 | UPDATED: 05:21 EST, 27 April 2012 (DAILY MAIL)

She's so far been unlucky in love, losing out to her sister Mary when she marries her previous crush Matthew Crawley. But now the middle daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham, Lady Edith, is finally getting her own big day. She's normally the dowdy sibling, having to dress in frumpy, unflattering period costumes while her elder sister Mary, played by Michelle Dockery, steals the limelight with her beauty.

But actress Laura Carmichael, who plays Edith in the hit drama, is set to take centre stage for once as she was spotted with the rest of the cast filming her wedding scenes earlier this week.Laura turned up to the set in Bampton, Oxfordshire covered up in a large padded black coat and Ugg boots, which covered up her white gown and veil underneath. She wore her blonde hair in tight curls with the veil attached to her head as a crew member lead her through the church grounds.

The whole of the stellar cast appeared to be on site in costume to watch the nuptials take place, including veteran star Dame Maggie Smith, whose beige lace dress was also covered by a coat. Michelle Dockery was also on hand as she took a break from carrying out her own wedding scenes, which saw her character marrying Matthew Crawley - played by Dan Stevens last month, in scenes to be revealed later this year.


READ MORE AND SEE MORE OF THE PICTURES:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2135992/Downton-Abbey-Lady-Edith-films-wedding-scenes-prepares-walk-aisle.html?ito=feeds-newsxml