Downton Abbey series 6: Where are Tom Branson and Lady Rose?
The Crawleys' country pile is looking a little empty as the period drama returns for its final season
Downton Abbey might be back on our screens in all its melodramatic glory, but it's missing a few familiar faces.
Episode one sees drama below stairs as the staff get used to Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes' new relationship status and continue to deal with Anna and Bates' uncertain future. But upstairs, the Crawleys are thin on the ground...
As season six begins, Robert, Cora, Mary and Edith are all alone in their crumbling country pile. Tom Branson has made true on his threats to go to America, and newly married Lady Rose has crossed the Atlantic too with husband Atticus.
"[Tom's] found a flat with a garden and Sybbie's happy at her school," says Lady Mary, during the first episode, while Robert worries about his eldest grandchild beginning to speak in an American accent.
Rose on the other hand is "hectic and happy" according to Robert. "New York seems to suit her," he says. A statement that doesn't come as a surprise.
Their absence is unlikely to be a permanent state of affairs, though. Both Lily James and Allen Leech are expected to turn up later on the series, so keep your eyes peeled...
