The Crawley’s holiday will be haunted by a secret in the ‘Downton Abbey’ Christmas special.
The two-hour long episode of the ITV period drama – which follows on from the dramatic fifth series – picks up with the family in autumn 1924 during grouse shooting season and will see their family break troubled by the threat of a "scandalous secret".
The drama kicks off when the Crawleys are invited to a party hosted by Rose’s (Lily James) new father-in-law Lord Sinderby (James Faulkner) at Brancaster Castle in Northumberland, where the Sinderby’s butler Stowell (Alun Armstrong) has an axe to grind.
The Christmas special will also see Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) take "drastic measures" in a bid to clear her name as she faces "an uncertain future behind bars" back in London.
In addition to the return of Lily, Joanne and James, regulars Dame Maggie Smith (Dowager, Countess of Grantham), Hugh Bonneville (Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham), Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary Crawley) and Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley) will also feature in the upcoming episode.
Meanwhile, a number of new faces including ‘New Tricks’ actor Alun and Jane Lapotaire, who will take on the role of Kurgin’s wife Princess Irina, are also set to appear.
Crawleys threatened by secret in Downton Abbey Christmas special
