Are you excited yet? Christmas is almost here, and that means a lot of fab television - including the highly-anticipated Downton Abbey Christmas special!

We were lucky enough to go to a screening of the (wonderful) episode, and afterwards the cast came to chat to reporters about appearing in the show.

We'll have your second instalment of Downton Abbey goodness tomorrow, but first up were stars Rob James-Collier (Thomas), Sophie McShera (Daisy), Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore) and Siobhan Finneran (O'Brien) - along with director Brian Percival and producer Liz Trubridge. Read on to find out what they had to say!

What would you like to happen to your characters in the future?

Sophie: "My basic hope for Daisy is a new dress! That's about it. That's all I want."

Lesley: "I want a bloke! I think it would be nice to see her in love."

Rob: "Whatever comes along, you know - just see what happens. Valet would be nice because he's been banging on about it for two series, so it'd be nice to be a valet. We'll see."

Siobhan: "Mine's similar to Sophie, really - I'm quite hoping she discovers false eyelashes and a bit of red lippy, new hairdo, new frock."

Rob: "New outlook on life!"

Siobhan: "New outlook on life. A broomstick to fly above the turrets of Downton on!"













Rob, we heard you were a bit nervous about dancing with Dame Maggie Smith in the Christmas episode...

Rob: "Wouldn't you be? I was really nervous, and that coupled with the fact that I can't actually dance unless it's breakdancing... but thankfully we've got a great director who allayed your fears. Maggie was cool - we had a laugh. I stood on her toe and got a death ray glare. I got through it but it was pretty nervewracking. I pitched the lift from Dirty Dancing - you know, where she jumps - but she wasn't happy with that. I don't think she was convinced I had the upper body strength."



Thomas does something a bit mean in the episode...

Rob: "I think it's what you do in desperation. The guy lost everything in the black market, he's got nowhere to go, he's trying to get where he wants to - you do silly things. I just think he's misunderstood."



Are you happy he's got his naughty streak back?

Rob: "Whatever comes, I'm just happy to be working, so whatever - I don't think of it like that. I just wait until I get the script and see what's there. If you start thinking, 'This is what I want', you're just going to get disappointed. I do think he should open a jazz bar, though, but that's another story."



Do you enjoy wearing the period costumes?

Siobhan: "The girls upstairs wear amazing costumes. We're usually neck to floor in black. There's a lot of costume envy goes on."

Rob: "Not for me!"

Siobhan: "He did say he wants to wear one of my dresses! You're not constantly having to get changed throughout the day, so that's a bonus. And they're comfortable. You get used to wearing a corset."







Could we see another Christmas special next year?

Liz: "We are doing an episode to go out at Christmas. We won't necessarily say it'll be set at Christmas."



Why do you think Downton Abbey is such a good show for Christmas?

Brian: "I guess there's a character in there for everyone. When we started there was a diversity of characters - most of the viewing public would identify more with one or two of the characters than others. The idea was that then through rooting for their favourite character they would get involved with the other storylines and characters and eventually would be drawn to characters that they might not initially spark off. So I think it got a broad appeal initially because there was something that everybody liked or liked to hate, and this sort of mix of comedy and drama and pathos. I think there's moments in there emotionally that we all feel connected with in one way or another. It gives the audience an opportunity to explore or revisit things in their own life where they've felt similar emotions."



How far could Downton go? Could we ever see it in the 50s or 60s?

Siobhan: "Yeah - none of us would be in it though, we'd all be dead!"

Rob: "We could have prosthetics."

Liz: "I can't see it myself, to be honest. It would just become something else."

Rob: "But I would love to see Carson in the midst of Beatlemania."









Do you ever suggest storylines for your characters to Julian?

Lesley: "My agent said, 'People keep saying to me - I know I'm banging on about this - but why doesn't Mrs Patmore have a love interest?' It's a bit insane because she does look like the back of a bus, to be frank. But people say to me, 'Actually, that would be an interesting diversion'. So I did say to Julian [Fellowes], 'This is what's happening', and he said, 'Never say never'."

Liz: "He's actually pretty open to people's suggestions, he really is."





Have you had much reaction from fans in other countries?

Siobhan: "My cousin's kids think I can speak fluent Spanish because they sat in Madrid and watched it. She called me and said, 'You're going to get a shock at Christmas when they come over because they're going to expect you to speak it'. I'd quite like to see it dubbed."

Rob: "My counterpart on the Spanish one, the guy who does the voiceover, has got an infinitely sexier voice."

Siobhan: "And the man who does mine!"

Rob: "So if I go to Spain they're going to be disappointed. They won't be happy - they'll feel shortchanged."









Have you started filming the third series yet?

Liz: "We start on February 13. I'm not being deliberately evasive here but we've just seen the briefest of glimpses of the first draft of the first two, so we know some headlines of where it's going. It will inevitably move on, but I honestly can't tell you where."



Siobhan and Rob, your characters can be a bit mean. What's the reaction like from fans?

Rob: "For me it's pantomime-esque. It's all playful panto. I'll go into a post office and get booed. I get a bit of stick from a guy with a little kid in a coffee shop but then from the other end of the spectrum he'll pay for my latte or cappuccino or something, so swings and roundabouts. It's all playful banter."

Siobhan: "Usually, the reaction is, 'Oh my God, you're not as fat and not as ugly'. That's my usual reaction. And then the next one is, 'Are you going to be nasty? What are you going to do next?'"

Rob: "I've found that if a softer side of the character edges in, people are offended by that. I get stick for going soft."







Who's the most surprising Downton Abbey fan you've heard about?

Siobhan: "I've got a good one. My mate's just worked with Tom Hanks, who watches it. That's really good, isn't it? Or a lie. But I believe him!"

Lesley: "Apparently Joan Rivers watches it on her tourbus."

Sophie: "She tweeted about watching it!"







The Downton Abbey Christmas special airs on Sunday (Christmas Day) at 9pm on ITV1.

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