Break out the tea towels! Filming on Series 4 of Downton Abbey has wrapped, and though those of us Stateside won’t be able to catch up with the Crawleys until January, photos from the production have been released to whet our appetites for the many heated arguments about the propriety of white-tie attire versus black-tie attire to come. Specifically, we’re getting our first glimpse of the three new men in the life of Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary, following the death of her husband Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) at the end of Series 3. “We do see quite a bit of the Mary she was before she met Matthew, that icy iron-maiden quality,” producer Gareth Neame tells TV Guide. “It’s going to take an awful lot to get her back to life.” Let’s get to know the three gents in her orbit better.
Jack Ross (Gary Carr)
The dashing young jazz singer from Chicago, pictured above, meets Lady Mary in the third episode, after Branson, Rose, and Aunt Rosamund force her finally to leave Downton after her extended period of mourning. They take her to a swinging club in London called the Lotus, where Ross helps her come out of her shell. “The spine of the new season is how Mary moves from total bereavement into turning to life again,” Neame says. “Ross is very positive, ambitious and charming. And we get to see him perform.”
Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen)
Around the same time, Lady Mary reacquaints herself with old family friend Lord Gillingham at one of Downton’s lavish parties. He helps her out with the tangled mess of inheritance taxes surrounding Matthew’s assets. “Mary is not looking for anyone to replace Matthew, but she is, of course, a beautiful, eligible young widow, so inevitably there is going to be quite a lot of male interest,” Neame says. “Gillingham is a very useful friend to Mary at a time when she’s not able to make decisions.”
Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden)
Remember Evelyn Napier? He was the Crawley family friend who introduced them to Turkish ambassador Kemal Pamuk — who died in Lady Mary’s bed — way back in Season 1. Well, he’s coming back. And hopefully the friend he’s bringing with him this time has a healthier ticker. Evelyn’s pal is named Charles Blake, and he’s full of ideas about how to run Downton more efficiently…just like Matthew was before his untimely end. But unlike Matthew Mary despises him. However, if you think about it, she wasn’t really keen on her eventual husband at the start of Season 1, either. “There’s a bit of a difference,” Neame says. “Mary objected to the law making Matthew the heir to Downton. Blake is someone she just doesn’t like. He’s modern-thinking but does not share the family’s sentimentality about the past.”
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
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‘Downton Abbey’ Season 4: 10 Spoilers About What’s Next for the Crawleys
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