Early pics from Downton Abbey series 5 begin to surface
To the mild displeasure of series creator/writer, Julian Fellowes, bits and bobs from the set of Downton Abbey series 5 are beginning to leak out for all the world to see. You might remember it was Fellowes who playfully, but sternly, admonished series 5 guest star Richard E. Grant as to the dangers of revealing spoilers via social networking sites after he tweeted out a very dapper photo of himself during filming earlier this year. Grant will play Simon Bricker, an art historian who is a house guest of the Crawley family. Fellowes simply said of Grant: “He’s very naughty. We had to explain to the cast about the dangers of tweeting as no one realizes how interested everybody is in the show. You’re in a bubble when you’re filming. You’re just tweeting these nice things and you don’t realize there are millions of people worldwide trying to pick up the plot.”
Perhaps Lesley Nicol wasn’t at that cast gathering as she tweeted out this photo of an obviously tickled to be back on the set, Mrs. Beryl Patmore.
Recent filming has the cast returning to Horsted Keynes railway station in Sussex. The cast should feel right at home as the station was officially closed by British Railways in 1963. It has been restored under a 1930s theme with period newspaper headlines on boards by the buffet and ads of the period. With five platforms it is the largest preserved Heritage Railway station in the UK.
Next stop – Downton
It is rumored that the Downton Abbey Christmas special for 2014 is partially being filmed at the rail station. While not much can be discerned from the photos from a storyline standpoint, it’s great to get even a minute look at what’s in store for UK audiences in September and American audiences in January 2015. Personally, I don’t think Sir Julian will be too upset with these latest photos showing some of the new cast members along with a train conductor. What do you think?
