Downton Abbey star teases movie plot and hints at a "love story"
Tuppence Middleton joins the established cast of Downton Abbey for the upcoming film adaptation, and the actress has revealed that while she was worried about going into something "so big and iconic", the addition of new faces "added fresh energy" to the much-loved drama.
The movie starts in 1927 and reunites the aristocratic Crawley family and their army of loyal maids, butlers and cooks, who are thrown into disarray by the impending arrival of King George V and Queen Mary.
Their sprawling Yorkshire estate is being run by fewer servants in the wake of the Great Depression and the aftermath of World War I, and so the family ask retired head butler Carson (Jim Carter) to return to help with their affairs. Middleton arrives to Downton with fellow new cast member Imelda Staunton (who is married to Carson's Carter off-screen).
"You do sort of worry, going into something as big as this, that that it will be cliquey, or the fans won't accept you, and that any number of things can go wrong," the War and Peace actress told Harper's Bazaar UK.
"But it was so welcoming, and everyone was glad to see some new faces, and for these new characters to come in and affect the lives of some of the beloved characters that have been in the show for years. It adds fresh energy to it I think."
"It's such an iconic cast," she continued. "Sitting at the table read, it was really amazing seeing these faces that I've admired for as long as I've been working, and even before that, so it was great experience."
Middleton also disclosed details of her new character Lucy Smith – and hinted of a romance for Lucy that might cross the restrictive class barriers of the 19th century.
"I play Lucy Smith, she's the maid of Lady Bagshawe's (played by Staunton), and she travels with her to visit Downton along with the royal family," said the star.
"So there's this whole new group of people that come in, and the Downton regulars have to manage all these new personalities. And she also possibly has a little love story with someone..."
The original cast returning include Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley, Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley, Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow, Joanna Frogatt as Anna Bates, Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, and Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley.
Meanwhile, Tuppence reunites with Imitation Game's Benedict Cumberbatch for historical drama The Current War, which follows the rivalry between electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.
The actress plays the wife of Thomas Edison Mary, who was a progressive woman who fought against the misogynistic conventions of her time by working. This was mostly unheard of in the late 1800s.
"The fact that she met when they were working together shows she was a modern woman," says Middleton. "She stopped working in our version when she married and had children, but she was still involved in what Thomas was doing, and that never went away."
"Mary was a very intelligent woman, and we didn't want her to be the supportive, meek wife - we wanted her to have her own voice and to have an effect on Edison and to be the person at the heart of the story who drives him forward. We tried to give her a bit more of a voice."
The Current War is in cinemas from July 26, while Downton Abbey is released on September 20.
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