Hugh Bonneville has hinted that Lady Edith Crawley may not get her happy ending in the ‘Downton Abbey’ Christmas special.
Viewers were left devastated for Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) when her sister Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) ruined her engagement to Bertie Pelham in the series six finale, and while they’ve called for her to finally find happiness in the last ever episode, Hugh’s now revealed that may not happen.
The 52-year-old actor – who plays Edith and Mary’s father Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in the hit period drama – said: "Let’s not forget that her nickname is ‘poor Edith’… but we’ll just have to wait and see."
The ‘Paddington’ star did reassure fans that the drama is not over yet though.
Speaking about the Christmas special, he told ITV’s This Morning’: "It’s really the continuation of the story, so what people saw on Sunday isn’t by any means the end…"
Hugh also spoke about a recent scene in which his character’s stomach ulcer burst and he spluttered blood all over the dinner table.
He revealed: "I heard people saying, ‘It’s so obvious he’s going to have a heart attack’, so to throw a curveball, which I thought was great, [writer and creator] Julian Fellowes said, ‘No, he will erupt in blood over the dinner table like, sort of, our version of ‘Game of Thrones’!’
"We rehearsed it very meticulously, had doctor’s advice on the colour of the blood and what would happen – but my main intention was to be able to get [on-screen wife] Elizabeth McGovern who was sitting opposite me. I thought, you know, ‘Six years I’ve had to sit opposite you’, and I managed to splatter her, so job done!"
Bonneville added that while he doesn’t think he’ll miss playing Robert, he’ll "miss the experience".
Hugh Bonneville hints at misery for Lady Edith
