With Little Lord Fauntleroy Crawley and wonderful footman William out of the picture, we had started to worry about the young handsome young male to female ratio at Downton Abbey. Sure, we still have Allen Leech, Rob James Collier, Ed Speelers and Matt Milne, but above stairs there seemed to be a looming threat of a lack of, shall we say, talent?
Luckily enough, the producers and Julian Fellowes have swooped in to save the day. They're giving us not one, not two, but THREE smashing chaps to bring the heat back up, and they've released some sneaky snaps of the boys for your viewing pleasure.
First up is Bluestone 42 star Gary Carr, who joins the cast as the show's first ever black character. Jazz singer Jack Ross will really impress Lady Mary, Lady Rose and Lady Rosamund with his musical talents, and we're sure plenty of viewers will fall in love with his dulcet tones too. We hear that he'll be discovered during a jaunt to London, so we guess the Crawleys won't be staying put this season.
Next up is Lord Anthony Gillingham, an old friend of the Granthams and rumoured love interest for Lady Mary: No pressure on actor Tom Cullen there so. We're sure devout fans of Matthew and Mary won't be easy to please...
Finally, we've got a brand new aristocrat on the scene, who reminds us a little of a certain young Mr Pamuk. Jolly posh actor Julien Ovenden is Charles Blake, who just so happens to be ANOTHER possible suitor for the icy lady of the manor.
So there you have it gang. Add Paul Giamatti to the equation and we've got quite the new collection of characters to look forward to. We doubt any of them will top Lord Grantham and Mr Bates though. Stud muffins.
Downton Abbey returns to ITV in September.
