Rock royalty in Downton: Pink Floyd star’s children join cast as extras in new series

 
7 August 2013
The Weekender

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Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour shows talent must run in the family after two of his children won parts in the new series of Downton Abbey.

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour with Polly Samson and their daughter who has a part as an extra in Downton
Rex

The 67-year-old musican was spotted with novelist wife Polly Samson, 51, on the set in Bampton, Oxfordshire, yesterday after son Gabriel, 16, and 11-year-old daughter Romany joined the cast as extras.

Polly Samson and daughter Romany take a break on location
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Young extras on the set in Oxfordshire

Gabriel wheeled a bicycle along while Romany joined a group of three children chasing after him during the shooting of the fourth series of the ITV period drama.

Romance ahead: Doctor Who actress Daisy Lewis plays the new governess and possible love interest for widowed Tom Branson, played by Allen Leech
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Former chauffeur Tom Branson, played by Allen Leech, was seen filming his first scenes with a new character played by Daisy Lewis, 28. After losing his wife Lady Sybil in the last series, it is rumoured he could find love again with the child’s live-in governess.

Look of love? Tom (Alan Leech) with the new governess (Daisy Lewis)
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Also shooting scenes were Penelope Wilton, who plays Isobel Crawley, and Jim Carter, who plays butler Mr Carson and was joined by his wife Imelda Staunton.

Downton dog: Jim Carter, who plays butler Mr Carson, was joined by his wife Imelda Staunton
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Though there were some decidely unperiod features on set as some of the actors were spotted using high-tech devices to learn lines.

Stars Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Phyllis Logan, Joanne Froggatt and Sophie McShera were on a promotional trip to Los Angeles to promote the series.

Romance ahead: Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary, with Joanne Froggatt (head housemaid Anna) in Beverly Hills
Reuters

Dockery revealed that Lady Mary will start the next season mourning the loss of husband Matthew but will be wooed by several handsome suitors.

She said: "She has more than one love interest. She's kind of slowly throughout the series coming back to real life, and of course it's important for her to eventually move on."

Lady Mary moves on: Dockery and Froggatt in Beverly Hills
Getty

All of those suitors are, she noted with satisfaction, handsome. "That was stipulated by you," executive producer Gareth Neame said, drily.

Mary's husband, played by Dan Stevens, was killed in a car crash just after welcoming the couple's newborn son, George, in last season's finale.

On set: Penelope Wilton (Isobel Crawley)and new cast member James Fox (Sir John Bullock)
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The fourth season will include newcomers Paul Giamatti as an American relation and opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa. A fifth season is planned, Mr Neame said, who suggested there could be more to come.

"The show is so popular around the world, it's beloved and it's in fine form," he said. But he said he couldn't envisage following the characters as far as the Second World War.

US broadcaster PBS has said it is standing firm against airing Downton simultaneously with the drama's UK run. The new series airs in the UK this autumn and in the US in January.

Despite the spoilers that leak online from its British run, the period drama has been a ratings hit for public TV, PBS chief executive Paula Kerger told the TV critics' group.

Look sharp: Mrs Crawley needs a quick repair as a button on her shoe comes adrift
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"You kind of don't want to mess with that if it's working so well," Kerger said.

Penny for your thoughts Carson: a pensive Jim Carter on the set
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Word-of-mouth from the British airing helps create buzz and promotion in advance of its PBS run, she said.

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