Downton Abbey

[Chloe O'brien]

four months can seem a loooooong time

It won't Perdy. If we get a good Summer were we can spend loads of time out in the fresh air, the time will pass quickly and before we know it. Autumn will be upon us, SCD, X factor and Downton Abbey. It has been almost six months since it was last one. We can do it Perdy.

[Perdita]

It won't Perdy. If we get a good Summer were we can spend loads of time out in the fresh air, the time will pass quickly and before we know it. Autumn will be upon us, SCD, X factor and Downton Abbey. It has been almost six months since it was last one. We can do it Perdy.

You are right, we can do it

[Perdita]

Shirley MacLaine has spoken about her new role on Downton Abbey.

MacLaine will appear in the hit period drama's third series as the mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern).

Speaking to E! Online, the Oscar-winning actress described the experience as "fabulous" and revealed that her character will clash with the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith).

"I love Maggie, I've known her for 40 years [and] we did many scenes together," she said. "[We clash] on an intellectual level."

MacLaine also joked that she had struggled with Downton's elaborate period costumes.

"I know why there was the class system - you needed one or two people to get you dressed every day," she quipped.

Penelope Wilton (Isobel Crawley) recently described her new co-star as "wonderful".

"She's so marvellous," said Wilton. "She's in the first two episodes, and we loved her."

Downton Abbey will return to ITV in the UK in late 2012. In the US, the series airs on PBS.

[Perdita]

..

[Perdita]

Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt has said that she was honoured to share scenes with Shirley MacLaine and Maggie Smith in the third series.

The actress - who plays housemaid Anna Bates - discussed working with the two iconic stars in a new interview with People.

"This scene I was in, there's an amazing little conversation between the two of them, a sort of snipey conversation," Froggatt hinted.

She continued: "It was like watching these two legends at work. It was one of the most special days I think I've ever had on set. It was magical."

Froggatt also offered a preview of her character Anna's struggle to prove husband John Bates (Brendan Coyle) is innocent of murder charges.

"You do see her grow up that little bit more, and she's a married lady now, she's Mr Bates. She moves into a more senior position in the house and she kind of becomes a woman," the star revealed.

"Obviously her and Mr Bates are having their turmoils again, so she's fighting to free her man as well."

Earlier this week, the first footage of MacLaine as Martha Levinson in Downton Abbey was unveiled.

Downton Abbey will return to ITV in the UK in late 2012. In the US, the series airs on PBS.

[Perdita]

MyAnna Buring has joined the cast of Downton Abbey.

The Twilight: Breaking Dawn star will reportedly appear in special Christmas episodes later this year.


© BBC

Buring will play a feisty servant named Edna in the period drama, reports The Sunday Times.

"You couldn't get two projects more different. I was thrilled when the Downton offer came," she said.

Bad Girls actress Simone Lahbib has also joined the cast as another servant.

The upcoming third series of the popular drama will begin in September, and will see the first appearance from Hollywood actress Shirley MacLaine.

Julian Fellowes has revealed details of the main plots of the third series.

MyAnna Buring recently spoke to Digital Spy about her role in BBC drama Blackout.

[Perdita]

Benedict Cumberbatch has claimed that the second series of Downton Abbey was "f**king atrocious".

The actor told the Reader's Digest September issue that he was not a fan of last year's episodes.


© BBC / Mammoth Screen

© ITV


"We're remembering that there was a world before the First World War," Cumberbatch said of his role in BBC Two's Parade's End.

"We're living in a culture now that's revering, or having a nostalgia trip with, the beginning of the 1900s.

"Although Downton traded a lot on the sentiment in the last series... but we won't talk about that series because it was, in my opinion, f**king atrocious."

He added: "There was that fear, yes. I thought, 'Are we pandering to a taste?' But this is so much more sophisticated, so much more unusual.

"You rarely see a piece about this class of people that's this accurate, funny and pointed. We're not making some clichéd comment, 'Oh, isn't it awful the way there's this upstairs-downstairs divide'.


© BBC / Mammoth Screen


"This is about class and love, an elegy to a dying era. It's the final mad waltz of Edwardian society into this war-game idiocy."

Cumberbatch said of the era: "Everyone was held in their place, but what was honourable about it was that there was a duty of care from the top down.

"That shouldn't be tied in with any sort of fat-faced, flatulent Cameron effort at what Toryism - horribly - is now."

Reader's Digest is out next Tuesday, August 21.

[Perdita]

Downton Abbey star Rob James-Collier has joked that he had to check his character Thomas Barrow was still gay.

The footman had an affair with the Duke of Crowborough (Charlie Cox) and tried it on with Turkish envoy Kemal Pamuk (Theo James) in the period drama's first series, but his homosexuality was not mentioned in the show's second run.

The 35-year-old quipped that he asked creator Julian Fellowes about the issue, and promised that Thomas's sexuality will be explored in the future, reports The Sun.

"The gay thing comes back in this series," James-Collier said. "He stopped being gay in series two!

"I had to ring upstairs and ask Julian, 'Am I still gay?' I said, 'Right, OK'.

"Seriously, in series two the drama focused on the Second World War and the huge impact it had on people back home in Britain in dealing with the dead and wounded. The gay thing was largely ignored.

"But Thomas has a beautiful storyline which evolves right through the new series and there is a massive pay-off."

The former Coronation Street actor went on to say that he had a number of "emotional" scenes to film in the new series, which he found "very challenging".

"I hope the audience will identify with why Thomas is the way he is - he has this secret which he can't tell anyone about because [homosexuality was] illegal," he added.

"He has this burden which he wants to share and we see that explained in a lovely storyline, thanks to Lord Fellowes."

Downton Abbey's third series will air in the autumn on ITV1 in the UK. It will air in the US on PBS on January 6, 2013.

[Perdita]

Downton Abbey star Rob James-Collier has joked that he had to check his character Thomas Barrow was still gay.

The footman had an affair with the Duke of Crowborough (Charlie Cox) and tried it on with Turkish envoy Kemal Pamuk (Theo James) in the period drama's first series, but his homosexuality was not mentioned in the show's second run.

The 35-year-old quipped that he asked creator Julian Fellowes about the issue, and promised that Thomas's sexuality will be explored in the future, reports The Sun.

"The gay thing comes back in this series," James-Collier said. "He stopped being gay in series two!

"I had to ring upstairs and ask Julian, 'Am I still gay?' I said, 'Right, OK'.

"Seriously, in series two the drama focused on the Second World War and the huge impact it had on people back home in Britain in dealing with the dead and wounded. The gay thing was largely ignored.

"But Thomas has a beautiful storyline which evolves right through the new series and there is a massive pay-off."

The former Coronation Street actor went on to say that he had a number of "emotional" scenes to film in the new series, which he found "very challenging".

"I hope the audience will identify with why Thomas is the way he is - he has this secret which he can't tell anyone about because [homosexuality was] illegal," he added.

"He has this burden which he wants to share and we see that explained in a lovely storyline, thanks to Lord Fellowes."

Downton Abbey's third series will air in the autumn on ITV1 in the UK. It will air in the US on PBS on January 6, 2013.

[tammyy2j]

Two new teaser trailers for season 3