Downton Abbey character to be killed off

A ‘major’ Downton Abbey character will die in the third series, it has been confirmed.

The death in the forthcoming third season of Downton Abbey was revealed by Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of the period drama for PBS. The producer revealed to The Insider ‘Somebody will be born, and somebody will die…Somebody pretty key in the cast [is] unfortunately not going to make it’

The third season of Downton Abbey is currently in production  with Shirley MacLaine, Matt Milne, Cara Theobald and Lucille Sharp all joining the cast of the hit ITV drama. The third season will air on ITV1 later this year with another Christmas Special to follow.

Downton Abbey has so far killed two main characters off; footman William Mason (Thomas Howes) who died of his injuries sustained in the First World War and Lavinia Swire (Zoe Boyle), the fiancée of Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), who died in the flu epidemic of 1919. Also killed off in the second season was Vera Bates (Maria Doyle Kennedy) the vengeful ex-wife of John Bates (Brendan Coyle) who was found guilty in the Christmas Special of her murder.