'Downton Abbey' (Series Six) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Blackmailer

Rita arrived at Downton Abbey with the intention of extorting cash from Lady Mary. Having been a chambermaid at the hotel in Liverpool, where Mary had stayed with Lord Gillingham - a scandalous event at the time - Rita threatened to expose the 'affair' unless she was paid off. Lord Grantham came to the rescue, and bought the incriminating evidence, and a signed confession of the attempted blackmail, for a bargain price of £50 rather than the £1000 Rita had been requesting.

Although there were new housemaids, they 'live out' and we caught only an occasional glimpse of them. We did meet Edith's employees and a headmaster, none of which was named Rita.

Answer: The venue for the reception

Carson wanted to hold the reception at Downton while Mrs Hughes felt that the village hall would be more suited to their guests. The situation was not helped when Mary intervened to persuade her father to offer use of one of the 'upstairs' rooms rather than the servants' hall. Carson felt it would be rude to refuse, but Mrs Hughes, as the bride, won the day.

The couple decided that it would be best for her to continue to be known as Mrs Hughes, to avoid confusion, so there was no disagreement there. The bridegroom, as is only right, had no say in the dress, although not all ran smoothly there either.

Answer: Tom Branson

Tom had gone to America, taking Sybbie with him, but had found that he missed Downton too much. His appearance at the end of the episode was met with joy from the family, and he settled back into life as a member of the aristocracy with little trouble. Although he had no major story lines in the series, Tom was instrumental in many of the events, particularly in Mary's romance and acted as a confidant to both Mary and Edith.

Lady Rose also went to America and did not appear in the main series. Sergeant Willis made several appearances during series six - there seemed to be a lot of crime around - but did not need to arrest any of the guests. Martha Levinson is Cora's mother and did not arrive at the wedding or, indeed, anywhere else during the series.

Answer: Henry Talbot

Henry Talbot made his first appearance, and met Mary, during series five when he took part in the shooting party where Edith also met Bertie Pelham. There is a strong attraction between Henry and Mary, but his prospects are poor and Mary's snobbishness proves a difficult barrier to surmount.

Tony Foyle, better known later as Lord Gillingham, Charles Blake and Evelyn Napier were all discarded candidates for Mary's hand from series five.

Answer: Neville Chamberlain

Violet and Isobel had been battling over the future of the local hospital, with Violet wanting it to stay a locally run facility while Isobel felt the future lay with becoming part of a larger, more modern, hospital. Nothing much in life changes. Violet invited Neville Chamberlain, at the time the Minister for Health, in the hope of enlisting his support.

The script included a comment by Chamberlain that he preferred negotiation to fighting - a reference to events which then lay in the future, his attempts to reach a settlement with Hitler without declaring war.

Answer: Thomas Barrow

Thomas was under pressure throughout the series, with Lord Grantham wanting (and needing) to reduce his staff. Thomas's role, as under butler, was deemed the least necessary and Carson had been particularly harsh in pressurising Thomas to look for alternative employment.

The series showed a softer side to Thomas's character, with none of the scheming for which he had been known, but even his 'good deeds', such as trying to teach Andy to read, were misconstrued. His desperation in trying to kill himself softened even Carson's heart, and he and Lord Grantham agreed that Thomas's position was safe for the immediate future.

A couple of the story lines have opened up possibilities for Thomas, which may yet be explored.

Answer: Brooklands

Mary was reluctant to attend, unlike Tom Branson (the former chauffeur) who was extremely excited and keen to become involved. Sadly, the event ended in tragedy with the death of one of the drivers in a fireball, witnessed at close range by most of the family members.

Brooklands was opened in 1907, the first circuit in the world to be built for motor racing. The last race was held in 1939, with the site being turned over to aircraft production. At the time of the television series, the mid 1920s, Brooklands was in its heyday.

Silverstone is still very much in use, and became the permanent home of the British Formula One Grand Prix in 1987. Brands Hatch and Donington Park are also still in existence in the early twenty-first century.

Answer: France

Not only did Violet fail to keep the hospital under local management, her position as president of the board has been given to Cora. Dame Maggie Smith was at her imperious best in expressing her outrage at this turn of events. Violet had described herself as being 'the patients' representative on earth', so her demotion felt even more of an insult.

Her decision to depart to the south of France for a month was made on the basis that time spent with 'the French' would make Downton seem much more attractive to return to.

She did leave a parting gift for Robert, though, in the shape of a Labrador puppy, named Tiaa, maintaining the tradition of using Egyptian names for his dogs.

Answer: Molesley

Molesley had been supportive of Daisy's efforts to improve her education and given her a lot of help and tuition. This had not escaped the attention of the school's headmaster, Mr. Dawes (played by Patrick Brennan), who encouraged Molesley to sit an examination himself. Once he had successfully passed this, Mr. Dawes asked him to take some classes at the school, to be fitted around his duties at Downton.

Although the first lesson was something of a disaster, Molesley was able to connect to the children during the second one by revealing that his background was similar to their own and that education was the way to improve their lives. Daisy passed all her exams too, so her future may hold new challenges too.

Answer: Mary

Mary's behaviour throughout the series had been particularly obnoxious and snobbish. Having spurned Henry Talbot for being 'beneath' her, she was shocked to find that Bertie, far from being just a land agent, was the new Marquess of Hexham following the unexpected death of his cousin. Bertie now outranked Lord Grantham himself and Mary could not resist once again ruining poor Edith's chances. Bertie's shocked reaction was more because Edith had not felt able to trust him with the truth than with Marigold's existence and he departed.

We were able to cheer a little as both Edith and Tom told Mary what they thought of her, followed up by a visit from 'grannie', the dowager, who broke through Mary's shell.