After months flitting between two eligible bachelors, fans of Downton Abbey may have hoped Lady Mary was about to finally settle down to find true love.
But it appears another handsome gentleman is soon to waltz into her life, as actor Matthew Goode joins the cast for a Christmas special.
Goode, who has already starred in period dramas including Dancing on the Edge and Death Comes to Pemberley, is expected to play a potential new beau for Lady Mary, after her long dalliance with aristocrats Charles Blake and Lord Gillingham.
The final episode of this series appeared to be leading up to a decision between the two, after storylines involving pre-marital sex and a love rival.
The Christmas special, however, promises yet further twists to the Crawley family’s love lives, with new arrival Goode, who is rumoured to have been spotted in filming already.
Goode has just starred with Downton’s Allen Leech, who plays character Tom Branson, in The Imitation Game, the Alan Turing biopic featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightly.
A spokesman for Downton has now confirmed: “Matthew Goode will appear in the Christmas episode as a guest character.”
This week, ITV finally confirmed the much-anticipated sixth series of the show will go ahead, suggesting Sunday’s finale will leave running storylines far from neatly tied up.
Aside from Lady Mary’s love triangle, fans of the show are waiting for the resolution of dilemmas from Lady Edith’s secret child to the murder investigation shining a spotlight on Anna and Mr Bates.
Preview pictures from the show capture the married couple behind bars, with Anna in a police line-up, while Tom makes up his mind whether to flee Downton to make a fresh start in America.
Lord Fellowes, the creator and writer of the drama, has already begun plotting the next series, which will start filming next year.
Cast members will also appear in a charity special, and will be joined by Hollywood actor George Clooney for a sketch in which the Dowager Countess faints after receiving a kis
Source: Telegraph