Downton Abbey the Movie

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen any of our favourite characters from Downton Abbey, four years to be exact. Most of the characters upstairs and down got a happy ending in the snowy Christmas finale, but it’s clear creator Julian Fellowes left an opening for a reunion when he capped of six seasons of drama, pregnancy, murder, death, war and fashion. And now that long anticipated reunion is finally here. We can only imagine that lush and stylish period drama Downton Abbey will be even prettier on the big screen.

The movie is set in 1927, two years from where season 6 ended. Downton is aflutter at the news of King and Queen’s one night visit. What a fabulous excuse for antics and showy dinners, parades and a ball! Nearly every major character except Lady Rose is back on the big screen, just the kind of nostalgia we’ve been waiting for, even if we finally have to get dressed and go out into the real world to see it. Rumour has it Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess steals the show with an endless stream of pithy one-liners, as usual.

Never fear if you can’t remember where we left off with our favourite characters:

Robert and Cora Crawley

Despite some marital ups and downs, season 6 ended with everything happy in the Crawley marriage. Robert has a new dog after Isis died in his arms from cancer. Cora was running be modern and running the local hospital.

Lady Mary and Henry Talbot

Lady Mary fell for another fast driver, retired racing car driver Henry Talbot who went into the used car business with Tom Branson. Mary inherited half of Downton with her own heir on the way – she was pregnant at the end of Season 6.

Anna and Mr Bates

This couple survived imprisonment, murder accusations and a brutal rape. The end of season 6 finally found some happiness for this tormented couple when Anna welcomed a baby boy during Edith’s wedding.

Countess Violet, the Dowager

Everyone gets older and more mellow, even the fabulous Countess Violet. She was finally happy to relax a bit and help her friends and family find happiness. She supported Cora’s modern aspirations and helped Isobel Crawley find love.

Isobel Crawley

Isobel reunited with her dying fiancé Dickie Grey against the wishes of his scheming family, and then found out he wasn’t dying after all.

Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson

“Elsie and Charlie” got married and live in their own cosy cottage. Carson finally retired due to a palsy that caused his hands to shake.

Tom Branson

Unlucky in love former chauffeur Tom opened a used car showroom with new brother in law Henry. The actor who plays Tom hints that his handsome character may find real love again soon.

Lady Edith

After an absolutely torturous romantic life, Edith finally marries Bertie Pelham, the Marquess of Hexham. In a sweet comeuppance, the Marchioness of Hexham outranks the female members of her immediate family, including her mother. But more importantly, her new hubby accepts illegitimate daughter Marigold.

Thomas Barrow

After years of scheming and pining and a near suicide, Barrow finally softened and got the job of his dreams replacing Carson.

Daisy

After a few scullery heartbreaks under the watchful but firm eye of surrogate mother Mrs. Patmore, Daisy finally met a nice guy, Andy.

Mrs Patmore

We were left with some hope of a connection between Mrs Patmore and farmer Mr Mason.

And here’s the official preview to wet your whistle:

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Was Isis Downton’s most loveable character?

Lord Grantham is surrounded by women on Downton Abbey, but Isis was the cuddliest, most loyal and least complicated of them all. Each episode of Downton opened with Isis’ behind, tail wagging her way toward the manor. She was the audience’s best friend.

The dog in the opening shot is actually Pharaoh, the first dog of Downton who appeared in 2010. Pharoh’s real name was Roly. But one of Lady Carnarvon’s male Labradors, Percy, would not tolerate the presence of another male dog in its territory – Carnarvon’s the real owner of the estate where Downton is filmed. Carnarvon wondered why the producers didn’t just use her dogs in the first place since they are always running around the estate.

So Pharaoh died off between Season 1 and 2 and was replaced by Ellie who started playing Isis. Originally the producers of Downton were going to keep the replacement a secret. Hugh Bonneville, right on the money, said Downton viewers would instantly spot the difference and complain! Pharoh played by Roly was a male whereas Isis played by Ellie was a female. So the back story was created that Pharaoh died and the Crawleys got a new dog called Isis.

Bonneville shared another secret about Ellie – her tendency to cause expensive damage. Roly sat calmly staring at his owner while on set, but Ellie’s constant tail wagging kept knocking over antiques! Maybe that’s why she was eventually replaced by Abbie the lab starting in Season 3.

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Downton Abbey Season 5: What we know so far

For starters, the trailer for Season 5 of Downton Abbey is pretty vague…

What we know about Season 5 of Downton Abbey…

FIRE!:
Allan Leech said we might cry during the season premiere of Downton Abbey. But Lesley Nichols said “There aren’t any plans for any big characters to die this year.” We know the fifth season opener of Downton Abbey starts with a fire… And that the fire affects one of the main character’s bedrooms. But who?

Because of the real risk of smoke damage at Highclere Castle, the smokey scenes were actually shot next to the house and at the studio. Lady Carnavon, the owner of Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) has spoken about the actual history of fire at Highclere Castle. She said fans will notice that the gilded ceiling is far less ornate in the north library than the main library because of fire damage 150 years ago.

After all we’ve been through, let’s hope none of our fictional characters are damaged by the fire in the first episode of Downton Abbey.

LADY MARY REMAINS SINGLE for now:
The love triangle with Lady Mary, Charles Blake and Anthony Gillingham is still triangulating in Season 5. We know that both actors are still very much on the scene. Michelle Dockery said she knew Lady Mary was never going to settle with a new man right away, partly for the sake of the audience since Matthew was such a well loved character. But we do know for sure that Evelyn Napier is no longer a potential suitor for Lady Mary. We understand that any choice between two hunks like actors Julian Ovenden (Lord Blake) and Tom Cullen (Lord Gillingham) can’t be easy.

MORE DRAMA FOR BATES AND ANNA (and maybe MARY):
We don’t know if Bates is a murderer or not. And Mary burned the ticket that puts Bates at the crime scene, creating a possible legal consequence for Lady Mary.

Anna and Bates are still dealing the traumatic aftermath of Anna’s rape by Green. We hear there is a tender moment in Season 5 where the couple talks about having children, so there is hope they will be able to move forward. But the suspicious cloud still hangs over Downton about Mr Green’s death. Suspecting that your husband may be a murderer is confusing for any wife.

MARY AND TOM GROW CLOSER:
Romance is out of the question, but the unlikely duo have a lot in common with their single parent widower status.

RUSSIANS!:
Lady Rose helps Russian refugees. And Lady Violet is also very involved in this new subplot. Prince Kuragin, the major Russian character, is played by Rade Serbedzija. Lady Mary is overheard saying: “Granny has a past!” He seems a bit young to have had any type of romantic affiliation with Lady Violet, but who knows. Bolsheviks, communists and Russians, oh my.

MORE DRAMA FOR EDITH:
With Edith’s illegitimate daughter hidden on the estate, how could there not be more drama? Add another secret waiting to be revealed when Lady Edith starts spending too much time with the Drewe family, the adoptive parents of Edith’s baby. “It’s a drama waiting to happen,” said actor Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith). It shouldn’t take Rosamund and Violet long to figure out where Edith’s baby is since they already know about this child’s existence. And Lady Edith doesn’t buy the whole Michael Gregson being attacked by a gang of street toughs story. She won’t let the disappearance of her daughter’s father go unsolved.

SARAH BUNTING IS STILL A LOVE INTEREST FOR TOM BRANSON:
All we know is that the actress is back on set and there’s romance, albeit conflicted, in the air.

CARSON AND MRS HUGHES HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON:

At the end of Season 4, the sensible guardians of downstairs held hands, a bold move on Downton. They are both very private people, but nobody can deny something is cooking beneath their civilized exteriors.

 

CASTING NEWS:
Richard E. Grant joins the cast as Simon Bricker, who visits Downton Abbey as a guest of the Granthams. You may have seen him previously on Girls, Gosford Park, and Doctor Who.

Anna Chancellor from The Hour and Four Weddings and a Funeral plays Lady Anstruther

Rade Sherbedgia from Eyes Wide Shut, and 24 plays a Russian refugee/prince.

Dame Harriet Walter returns as Lady Shackleton

Peter Egan returns as Lord Flintshire.

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Downton’s Most Memorable Moments

Matthew and Mary get engaged:

Who can forget this snowy romantic moment, a Christmas miracle. We wondered if it would ever actually happen, but it finally did once Lavinia died of the Spanish flu and boorish Sir Carlisle was sent packing. Matthew gets down on one knee while the Servant’s Ball rages on inside. And finally the moment we’d all been waiting for was worth all that waiting. Until yet another memorable and shocking Downton Christmas Special moment…

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The Cinderella Story of Lady Edith

Imagine if your own mother said this about you: “Be kind to her, she has so few advantages.” That’s exactly what Lady Cora said about her daughter Edith.

Laura Carmichael plays Lady Edith on Downton Abbey, the classic middle sister: boring, undervalued and overlooked. In the early days of Downton, Edith is always eclipsed by her sisters: charismatic Lady Mary and the pretty and daring Lady Sybil. But make no mistake, Edith has a dark side and isn’t above seeking both revenge and attention, most notably by ruining Mary’s reputation after revealing her tryst with the Turk.

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