Were you not looking forward to it then?

I shall record - it's bedlam here - never get to watch the telly properly.

The good life: The staff at Downton Abbey are set to  feature heavily in the storyline

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Downton on Christmas evening  Worried why we need hankies tho..please no Grannie departing... 

Dan Stevens will  reportedly not return for the fourth series of Downton  Abbey.
The actor is said to be taking part in the first episode of  the new series, due to air next year, but will then depart the costume drama.

[Dan Steven's Matthew Crawley marrying  Michelle Dockery's Lady Mary]
Although the reports have not  officially been confirmed by ITV, a source from the show's production team told  the Sunday Express: "Dan Stevens isn't  returning to the series. He will probably do the first episode of the fourth  series, but that will be it."
On Thursday (November 23), ITV confirmed  that Downton Abbey has been picked  up for a fourth series and a Christmas special in 2013.

However, Stevens will be  appearing in this year's two-hour Christmas episode, which sees the Grantham  family travel to Scotland, leaving the majority of the servants behind.

Have a

Downton Abbey kick starts the Christmas evening's entertainment at 8.45pm.

The annual visit to his Scottish cousins at Duneagle Castle, where the piper calls the tune for breakfast and dinner, is the highlight of Robert’s (Hugh Bonneville) year. Duneagle is the home of young, headstrong Lady Rose (Lily James), who was sent home in the last episode of series three after her dalliance with a married man.

I'm crying already at the thought of no Matthew in series 4

Me too

Scottish getaway: The Crawley family and much loved  servants are leaving Downton Abbey behind and heading to the Highlands for a  break

North of the border: Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville,  third from left) and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens, second from right) as the  family visit their Scottish cousins at Duneagle Castle

 In the two hour ITV1 special, Lord and Lady Grantham  and their family visit their Scottish cousins at Duneagle Castle, accompanied by  servants John Bates, his wife Anna, and O’Brien.

This is the home of Lady Rose, played by  newcomer Lily James, who was sent home in the last episode of series three after  her dalliance with a married man.

Family tension: Tom Branson (centre played by Allen  Leech) and servant Jimmy Kent (right played by Ed Speleers) play tug of war as  tensions build up between the two tribes

Rumoured romance: It is understood that there may also  be some romance for downtrodden cook Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol) with another  villager known as Tufton (John Henshaw)

Insiders said viewers would see  tensions  build up between the two tribes and there is even the  suggestion of a new  romance for Lady Edith.

Scottish break: New faces Shrimpie Flintshire (Peter  Egan) and Susan Flintshire (Phoebe Nicholls) appear in what is the home of Lady  Rose (Lily James), who was sent home in the last episode of series three after  her dalliance with a married man

Happy arrival: Lord Grantham and Lady Cora (Elizabeth  McGovern) arrive at the Scottish castle

Love for Edith? There is a suggestion of a new romance  for Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael)

‘

Away from the Abbey: The Granthams, including Lady Mary  (Michelle Dockery) and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), do not live at Downton  Abbey twelve months of the year but go to London for the summer season and away  on holidays

Tourist spot: Lady Cora and Lady Edith arrive at the  castle

Gone fishing: Matthew enjoys some fishing  .

'Mice will play': Back at Downton Abbey, the arrival of  a country carnival in the village means many sneak off to enjoy the fun of the  fair including Thomas (Rob James-Collier)

Old fashioned fun: The men do a spot of shooting in  Scotland including Lord Grantham, Matthew and Nield (Kenneth Bryans)

Scottish setting: Lord Grantham and Dowager Countess  (Maggie Smith) 

Best loved servants: Bates (Brendan Coyle) and his wife  Anna accompany the Granthams.

Thanks for the new pics Erin! oh i'm so excited, it's going to be a great way to round up Christmas day

'It is the worst programme ever': Downton Abbey faces viewer backlash over  'unbelievably boring' Christmas special

  By J J Anisiobi

PUBLISHED:12:13, 27 December  2012| UPDATED:13:59, 27  December 2012

Those that did tune in to the programme were  left feeling sleepy as the period drama was lambasted by disappointed  viewers.

Angry audiences across the country slated  Downton Abbey for being the 'worst programme ever' to be shown on  television.

Long story: Fans reacted angrily at the boring Downton  Abbey Christmas special which featured Matthew Crawley dying

Even with the added addition of Matthew  Crawley making a dramatic deadly exit from the show, viewers were unhappy with  the slow pace and dry dialogue.

One person tweeted: 'Still can't sleep even  after the most boring episode of Downton Abbey EVER. Thank god for American  Horror Story, Jessica Lange.' (sic)

While another said: 'I've been made to sit  through an hour of Downton Abbey already....worst programme ever..to then be  told there's another 90 mins left'.

A wake up call: Dan Stevens and Micheller Dockery failed  to attract a large audience on Christmas Day

The negative reaction to the two hour special  continued through out the show with many viewers switching off.

'I'm a #Downton Abbey fan but think it'd take  an expert of extraordinary skill to make the Christmas special any more boring  than it is', said one tweeter.

One person commented: 'Made it about 10  minutes into downton abbey. dreadfully boring. I don't get the  appeal'.

The general consensus on the  disappointing  Christmas special, which pulled in 7.3million viewers, was summed up when one  person tweeted:  'Downton Abbey is unbelievably boring'.

Despite all the doom and gloom one  person  was very happy with the episode as Dan Stevens was finally able  to leave the  show for bigger opportunities.

Over and out: Dan Stevens, who plays Matthew Crawley, is  looking forward to more opportunities now he has left the show

The 30-year-old was last seen in Downton  lying on the road with fake blood dripping from his head following a high speed  car crash.

Speaking to the Daily  Mirror, Dan said: 'Downton was a very  monopolising job. So there is a strange sense of liberation at the same time as  great sadness because I am very, very fond of the show and always will  be.'

The actor, who is currently starring in  Broadway play The Heiress, added: 'I don’t see money or a particular status as  an actor as a goal but I want to do the best work I can in as interesting a  range of roles as I can.

'And I think a moment like this is quite  unique and presents those opportunities more than ever before.'

Blonde ambition: Dan, pictured earlier this year, is  currently on Broadway opposite Jessica Chastain in The Heiress

I was just saying to my mum what a boring episode it was, I thought it would a *christmas* story, I didn't bother watching the last 30mins and then I found out that Mathew died right at the end just watched it again and saw the end, I must say she had that baby pretty kick she only look a few months go

It was a bit disappointing I thought - i'd thought I'd get a good cry at it, but it really was very slow all the way through - and they didn't make enough of Matthew dying, we didn't even get to see her get the news.  I bet the baby's about two when the new series starts - and I agree with Aims, tiniest 8 and a half month bump I've seen.

Is that how far gone she was mean't to be?

Well when they were packing to leave she said she still had a month to go and they'd been there a week

Bonza disappointment in my humble.

Far too much going on which conveniently got resolved before the end credits rolled.  It was as if they tried to cram a season's worth of storylines into one programme.

And Matthew's car crash couldn't have been signalled more if a load of extras had stood roadside waving banners saying "Watch out for the lorry!"

Lady Grantham is a simpering pain in the bum.

Thank god for the Dowager Duchess.

Downton Abbey to introduce first black character as hit show is set to  explore race relations storyline

  By Kimberley Dadds

PUBLISHED:09:27, 26 February  2013| UPDATED:09:31, 26  February 2013

The hit ITV period drama is currently seeking  someone to play musician Jack Ross as part of a storyline about race relations  in the 1920s.

According to casting notes - which were sent  out to actors' agents earlier this month - Jack is "25-30. A musician (singer)  at an exclusive club in the 20s.

Shaking things up: Downton Abbey is to introduce the  first black character in the upcoming fourth series according to casting  notes

"He's black and very handsome. A real man  (not a boy) with charm and charisma".

The notes also state that whoever lands the  coveted role should "ideally be able to sing brilliantly".

According to The  Sunnewspaper,  the notes add: "Overall he should be a very attractive man with a certain wow  factor."

Although the role will not be the only new  character to appear in the fourth series of Downton Abbey when it hits TV  screens.

More new characters: Lady Mary Crawley will also get a new boyfriend in the new series, following the departure as Dan Stevens as her husband Matthew Crawley

Lady Mary Crawley will also reportedly get a  new love interest in the form of Lord Anthony Gillingham, who also helps the  family with their money woes, so could be a big hit with Mary's father, the Earl  of Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville.

In further casting notes, the character is  described as a "good looking, very charismatic" 35 to 45-year-old with a  "perfect cut glass accent. He's warm and charming, but also a strong man with  morals."

It is rumoured that this part has already  been cast to EastEnders and Miranda star Tom Ellis.

Ready to start filming: It is though Dame Maggie Smith  will return in her role as the Dowager Countess Grantham

At the end of series three Lady Mary was left  devastated when husband Matthew Crawley passed away.

Sir John Bullock - a party-loving cad - is  also another new character lined up for the upcoming series of the smash hit.

Filming is due to start on March  23.

Indeed. Perhaps to balance things up a bit, and given the leakage of thespians into Coronation Street, we could have Deidre Barlow with her lovely nails and an occasional gasper brought into t'Abbey. Kirk would make quite a good footman too.

Latest Gossip(may contain spoiler)

http://www.wetpaint.com/networ...hos-going-whats-next

We're so used to seeing them in period dress  that it is, at first, quite tricky to work out who is who.

But once your eyes adjust you'll recognise  housekeeper Mrs Hughes, Carson the butler, Lord and Lady Grantham, Matthew  Crawley and Daisy the kitchen maid...just not as you know them. At  all.

These photographs prove that there was life  before ITV's Downton Abbey, and reveals what some of the hit drama series' stars  were doing before it appeared on our screens.

 

 

Phyllis Logan as housekeeper Elsie Hughes in Downton  Abbey, left, and at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily in 1983, where she won  a Best Actress Award for her role in Another Time, Another Place,  right

So you'll find Mrs Hughes - aka Phyllis Logan  - has stripped out of her high-collared housekeeper's uniform and into a bright  yellow floral mini-dress. She can be seen relaxing in a Sicilian garden at the  Taormina Film Festival in 1983, having won a Best Actress Award for her role in  World War II drama Another Time, Another Place, released in 1982.

 

 

Lady Cora Grantham - played by Elizabeth  McGovern - looks serene in her lady-of-the-abbey attire and diamond earrings...  and much cheekier in a tight black dress with both a string of pearls and Brad  Pitt's arm draped around her neck in Donald Petrie's 1994 rom-com The  Favor.

 

 

Elizabeth McGovern as Lady Cora Grantham in Downton  Abbey, left, and with Brad Pitt in The Favor in 1994

 

You'll also find Hugh Bonneville removed from  his seat as Lord of the house and left Holding The Baby in the 1997 comedy  series, and Dan Stevens' dapper Matthew Crawley replaced by a beaten prisoner in  Sheffied's Crucible Theatre's production of Romans In Britain, directed by Sam  West in 2006.

And it's impossible not to be delighted by  both Sophie McShera - that's Daisy the kitchen maid to you Downton fans - in her  Waterloo Road school uniform in 2009, and, of course, Carson the butler (actor  Jim Carter) as the cowardly lion in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1987  theatrical production of the Wizard of Oz.

 

 

Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in  Downton Abbey, left, and in TV comedy series Holiding The Baby in 1997,  right

 

 

Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, left,  and performing in The Romans In Britain at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in 2006,  right

 

 

Sophie McShera as Daisy the kitchen maid in ITV's  Downton Abbey, left, and in Waterloo Road in 2009, left

 

I LOVE the picture of Jim Carte from Wizard of Oz.  Where the devil did you find that?  I would love to see if they have photos if Imelda and the rest of th cast.

Oh what larks!  Puff Daddy/P Diddy/Diddy/Doo Wah Diddy or whatever you call him has tweeted that he's in the next series

I think it may be a wind-up, Sweet.

Can't imagine the Dowager Duchess approving of any 'ho's 'n bitches'