Downton Abbey: The London Season (Christmas Special 2013) [DVD]

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Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1 HD w/e 21 October 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 29 October 2012. Weekly Top 30 Programmes: ITV1 w/e 23 September 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 1 October 2012. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV HD w/e 20 October 2013". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013 . Retrieved 31 October 2013. Finneran stated that the character "is a thoroughly despicable human being", [16] and that "People actually love that she’s a nasty piece of work. They love to dislike her." [17] Finneran stated her belief that O'Brien's negative attitudes originated from how the character "has basically sacrificed her entire life to somebody else, for the good of their life and their home — it’s no wonder that she would get frustrated or angry about things." [17] Finneran believed that O'Brien "was great to play." [16]

Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV HD w/e 22 September 2013". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 30 September 2013. Lady Edith has had her baby, Marigold, in Switzerland and returned home, but regrets leaving her there. She ignores Lady Rosamund's protestations and decides to leave her with one of Downton Abbey's tenant farmers, Timothy Drewe. Elsie May Carson (née Hughes) (played by Phyllis Logan) (b. 1862) is the housekeeper at Downton Abbey. The female servants report to her. Though unmarried, she is referred to as Mrs Hughes according to traditional titles for servants during the time period. She is originally from Argyll, Scotland, where her father was a farmer. Elsie worked as a maid at Duneagle Castle for an unknown period of time. She has one sibling, a sister who lives in Lytham St Annes. Mrs Hughes has described her sister as being born "not quite right in the head" and has been privately caring for her since their mother died. Before she came to Downton in 1895 as head housemaid, she was courted by a farmer, Joe Burns. But she refused him and he married a woman named Ivy and had a son, Peter. In 1913, three years after Ivy dies and his son joins the army, Joe comes to Downton and asks Elsie to marry him, but once again she refuses him, even though she has previously expressed doubts about choosing a life of service over having a husband and family.Weekly Top 30 Programmes: ITV1 w/e 16 October 2011". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board . Retrieved 24 October 2011. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1+1 w/e 06 November 2011". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board . Retrieved 4 January 2012. She also begins to see Albert Mason, Daisy's father in law, and between the two of them, help Daisy to realise that no matter what happens with them, they will always be there for Daisy, and that they love her very much. This helps Daisy drop any objections she has about their pairing. Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Strutt KCB, DSO (played by Julian Wadham) is a senior British Army general known as the "Hero of the Somme". He visits Downton Abbey in 1917 as part of a tour of England to drum up support for the war effort. During a dinner in his honour, Branson, the Irish nationalist and socialist chauffeur, attempts to avenge himself on the Army by pouring a soup tureen of slop over the general, but he is stopped in time by Carson the butler (who after reading Branson's apology note to Lady Sybil, found by Anna, thought Branson meant to assassinate the general). Sir Herbert leaves Downton the next morning with no knowledge of the incident. William Mason (played by Thomas Howes) (d. 1918) was the second footman at Downton. His father was a local farmer and William used to help with the horses. William had three brothers and a sister but all died at or shortly after birth, leaving him as the only child. His mother died of illness towards the end of the first series. Affable and good-natured, he was also a competent pianist (actor Thomas Howes is a pianist) and would entertain other servants during their free time. During the first series he had strong feelings for Daisy.

The Crawley family is implicated in a scandal threatening to engulf the royal family, and Robert must go to great lengths to protect his family and the monarchy. Edith is struggling with a moral dilemma of her own, while Isobel has attracted an admirer. Daisy receives an unexpected invitation, while Carson treats the staff to a day out at the beach. [3] Plot [ ] Vera Bates (played by Maria Doyle Kennedy) (d. 1918) was the estranged wife of John Bates. Having known each other since childhood, they married young and had a very unhappy marriage. In between serving in the Anglo-Boer War and joining the staff at Downton Abbey, John Bates went to prison for a theft that Vera had committed.In the second Christmas special, Thomas, now known mostly as Mr Barrow, participates in the Tug-of-War match for the Downton side. When they win, Barrow follows Jimmy who, having won a large bet, has too much to drink. Barrow finds Jimmy just as he is cornered by two members of the opposing team, and puts himself in the way so Jimmy can avoid being beaten and mugged. Barrow is badly beaten instead. While he is recuperating, Jimmy comes to speak with him. Barrow accepts that Jimmy can never give him what he wants, so they instead agree to be friends. Anna May Bates (née Smith) (played by Joanne Froggatt) (b. 1886) is lady's maid to Lady Mary at Downton Abbey; previously she was first parlour maid and head housemaid. She is 26 at the beginning of the series. She is very trustworthy, polite, and loyal to the Crawley family and her "downstairs" co-workers. Anna was the member of staff who helped Lady Mary and her mother Cora carry the corpse of Kemal Pamuk out of Lady Mary's bedroom and was the only one who openly welcomed valet John Bates to the household, despite everyone else's initial prejudice against him on account of his limp. After a long and somewhat secretive courtship she married Mr Bates in the end of the second series in a private ceremony at a registrar's office. Lady Mary prepares a room for Anna and her husband in the main house so they can spend their wedding night together. After her wedding, to avoid confusion with her husband, Anna is still called by her first name by the staff and family, unlike standard practice for lady's maids of the time. Bates does not say much about his family or childhood, though he does mention that his late mother was Irish and he has a Scottish grandmother. Beryl Patmore (played by Lesley Nicol) is the cook at Downton. Mrs Patmore is in charge of the kitchen and kitchen staff. She takes great pride in her cooking and is a perfectionist in the kitchen. When the food does not meet her exacting standards, she takes her frustration out on the maids, especially Daisy. Throughout the first series she is often seen bossing around and shouting at Daisy while working but cares for her like a daughter and often offers her advice. She also seems to have protective feelings towards Daisy when she suspects that some of the other staff such as Thomas or Miss O'Brien are trying to make a fool or take advantage of her. Occasionally her caring attitude may become even counterproductive, as when she advises that Daisy should not sacrifice that much of her spare time to try to self-educate herself, as she sees that hopes for that kind of lifestyle which would justify such efforts are set too high considering Daisy's chances to move in the social hierarchy of that era. Phyllis Baxter (played by Raquel Cassidy), is hired as lady's maid to Cora following the departure of Edna Braithwaite. Baxter is hired on Barrow's recommendation, and Cora is pleased with Baxter. However, it becomes clear that Barrow knows a secret about her, which he uses to his advantage to make her spy on the servants and family, something Baxter is very uncomfortable with.