'Downton Abbey' (Christmas 2011 Special) Quiz

Answer: Lady Rosamund

Lady Rosamund Painswick is a widow, normally living in London. In the first series, she was instrumental in placing doubts in Mary's mind over marrying Matthew. She came to Downton for Christmas and New Year, bringing her maid, Marigold Shore, played by Sharon Small. Lady Rosamund is portrayed by Samantha Bond, who acted the role of Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films between 1995 and 2002 when Pierce Brosnan was Bond.

Answer: Isis

Thomas the footman was keen to obtain promotion to the position of valet, but knew this was unlikely as Lord Grantham knew of his dishonesty (in Series One). He devised the plan of taking and hiding Isis, before being able to play the hero by finding her again.

His plan did not go exactly as intended, as the dog was discovered by someone else while Thomas was searching for her when he realised she was no longer where he had left her. It did work out for him when Lord Grantham saw his return from the fruitless search and was impressed by his (apparent) loyalty. Isis was played by a dog named Ellie, from Series 2 onwards.

The original dog from the first series, named Pharaoh and played by Roly, had to be replaced as he did not get on with the resident dogs at Highclere Castle where the series was filmed.

Answer: Guilty, sentenced to death but commuted to life imprisonment

Mrs Hughes, the housekeeper, and O'Brien, Lady Grantham's maid, were both called as prosecution witnesses to testify that they heard Bates threatening his wife. Lord Grantham was a character witness, but was forced to admit that Bates had told him that he wished his wife was dead.

The jury returned a verdict of 'guilty' and the judge had to pass a death sentence under the laws of the time. As the evidence was circumstantial rather than conclusive, the sentence was appealed to the Home Secretary and reduced to a life sentence. Anna, now married to Bates, vowed to continue her fight to prove his innocence.

Answer: America

Lady Mary was suffering doubts about her engagement to Sir Richard, and it was suggested that she could visit his grandmother for a while. Since her mother, Lady Cora, was an American, this is where she decided to go. Anna, her maid, had agreed to go with her, but these plans fell through. Ireland was a red herring, as that was where Mary's sister, Sybil, was living. France and Switzerland were never mentioned.

Answer: Nigel Havers

Hepworth was penniless, a fact which Lady Violet was quick to establish, and was keen to marry Lady Rosamund for her money. Even though she was made aware of this, Rosamund told her mother that she was tired of being alone and was prepared to marry Hepworth despite his precarious financial situation.

However, the housemaid, Anna, discovered that Hepworth and Lady Rosamund's maid were having a sexual affair, which she exposed. Rosamund could not now go ahead with marrying him, although she was not so much heartbroken as annoyed that Lady Violet had been proved right about his dishonourable intentions.

Answer: Lady Sybil

Lady Sybil, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, had married the chauffeur, Branson, in Ireland although her parents had not attended the wedding, claiming illness as an excuse. Sybil did not appear in the Christmas Special at all, but her mother did receive a letter from her to reveal that she was pregnant. Lord Grantham was not impressed by the news, referring to the fact that their grandchild would be a 'Fenian'.

The Fenians were groups set up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to fight for Ireland being an independent country.

Answer: Ouija board

The Ouija board was used as a device to move some of the plot strands forward, and was particularly popular with O'Brien. Mrs Hughes, naturally, refused to touch it and Mrs Patmore, the cook, initially poured scorn on it too. Mrs Patmore then managed to use it to her own advantage and to manipulate Daisy, the kitchen maid, in a particular direction. Towards the end of the show, Anna and Daisy were experimenting together and received a message saying 'Let them be happy. With my love.' which frightened them as each denied that they had moved the board.

The assumption was that the message had come from Lavinia, Matthew's fiancee, who died in Series Two.

Answer: Robert Bathurst

Sir Anthony had been on the point of proposing to Edith at the end of Series One, until Mary interfered in revenge for Edith exposing her affair with the Turkish minister to the Embassy. Sir Anthony had been injured during the 1914-1918 war and lost the use of one arm. Because of this, and the age difference, he told Edith that he could no longer consider marriage, but Edith made it clear that she was not prepared to give up so easily. Robert Bathurst is probably best known for his role as David Marsden in 'Cold Feet', which ran on British television from 1998 until 2003. Iain Glen played Sir Richard Carlisle and Trevor White played Patrick Gordon in Series Two. David Robb played the role of the doctor.

Answer: Mr Mason

Daisy was still suffering from guilt for marrying William when she didn't really love him. William's father, played by Paul Copley, asked Daisy to visit him at the farm where William had been brought up, but Daisy felt that this would be dishonest. Mrs Patmore manipulated the situation to convince Daisy that William wanted her to go to the farm, and she eventually agreed. Since she had no living parents, and Mr Mason had lost his only son, the two of them reached an agreement that they needed each other.

Answer: False

Far from marrying him, Lady Mary had broken off her engagement and told both her father and Matthew the truth about the death in her bed of the Turkish diplomat. Sir Richard showed himself in a bad light throughout the show, being rude to his gun loader while shooting, complaining about the staff being given time off over Christmas and New Year and, worst of all, questioning Bates's innocence.

In fact, the series ended with Matthew getting down on one knee in the snow to propose to Mary, and be accepted. Sir Richard's knowledge of her indiscretion remained a cloud hanging over them which might yet spoil their future together.