Dockery Talks Ovenden, Stevens & DOWNTON ABBEY S4

DOWNTON ABBEY's Lady Mary and upcoming PBS THE HOLLOW CROWN Shakespearean queen Michelle Dockery discusses the new season of the hit period soap as well as her character's charming new paramours - including one played by none other than stage and screen star Julian Ovenden - in a new interview.

Dockery says The Following of Lady Mary's S4 Downton Abbey romantic arc with characters portrayed by Tom Cullen and Julian Ovenden and who they will be playing on the new season: "[Cullen's character] Gillingham is an old family friend. The sisters knew him when we were growing up, and we haven't seen him since then. A party is organized at the house, and he is invited to it. He's just a different character. And there's other potential suitors, as well. It's not just him. There's a character called Blake, played by Julian Ovenden."

Dockery adds, "And Evelyn Napier [Brendan Patricks] comes back, as well. He was the one who brought the Turkish diplomat along. That was lovely to play scenes with Brendan again because we haven't seen him since Season 1."

Dockery concludes of the trio of potential suitors for the recently widowed new mother she plays, "They're very different."

Additionally, Dockery explains what we can expect from the highly anticipated new season and how it fits into the scheme of the series as a whole, especially now with the loss of a major character. "I went through a phase where I worried about where it was going. But now I see, since we filmed [Season] 4, for Mary, there is a life without Matthew [Dan Stevens]," Dockery opines.

Ultimately, Dockery concludes, "The fourth [season] is about recovery. She's starting a new life. In some ways, there are similarities to [Season] 1 before Mary got together with Matthew. There's various suitors that are being thrown in her direction. But she's very reluctant to go through with any of it because, of course, she can't stop thinking about Matthew."

Matthew always lingers, Dockery says. "He's still very much a part of her thoughts. She'll never get over it. You don't ever get over losing someone. It's learning to Deal With It and move on. He's a hard one to replace," she asserts.

Check out the original story on the matter here.

DOWNTON ABBEY Season Four premieres this Fall on ITV and returns to PBS in the US in January.

For more exclusive coverage on DOWNTON ABBEY, check out my recent InDepth InterView with S4 Downton Abbey star addition Julian Ovenden - new intended suitor for Lady Mary, Blake - available here, as well as my InDepth InterView with THE CHRONICLES OF Downton Abbey author Jessica Fellowes, available here.

Also, check out a series of photos recently released featuring the S4 cast of DOWNTON ABBEY, available here.

So, are you excited to see which of these three dashing leading men Lady Mary chooses this season?