8 Million Tuned for PBS DownTown Abbey

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By AMELIA PROUD

Nearly 8 million people tuned in for Sunday’s third season opener of Downton Abbey on PBS 

The third-season launch  almost doubled the 4 million who’d watched PBS’s the second-season debut and also quadrupled PBS’s average primetime performance.

All experts are predicted a similarly record breaking season as the second series continued the high figures of the opening episode.

 

And Rob James-Collier has hinted that there is much more to come for him this season as the show further explores his character Thomas' life as a gay man in Edwardian England. 

Entertainment Weekly described the opener as a 'rich, dense fruitcake' while Slate.com praised the way Maggie Smith and Shirley MacClaine, both 78, traded 'zingers,' though all agreed that the English dame had the best of her American counterpart. 

Thanks to the British show, PBS was the second most watched broadcast network between 9 and 11, CBS with its original episodes of The Good Wife and The Mentalist just managed to pip them.

'I’m thrilled to see so many viewers return to the Crawley family’s delicious drama and intrigue,' executive producer Rebecca Eaton said Monday.

Julian Fellowes' insanely popular show has already concluded its third series in the UK.

Downton first aired on PBS on January 9, 2011.

 

Little devil: Thomas is something of a an eccentric, and so is the man who plays him according to Rob who admits to be being over the top 

 This season rejoins the story as World War I is over, the engagement of Lady Mary and Matthew is firmly back on. 

And Shirley MacLaine has joined the cast, offering a gift to loyal American fans of the show via her Virginia drawl... though she will have to go a long way to outshine a certain Maggie Smith.

Meanwhile, Manchester born James-Collier, 36, has spoken to Out magazine about what it's like playing a gay Edwardian in the show.

The 36-year-old, who posed for a sultry shoot to accompany the article, revealed that this season will see Thomas's sexuality be explored fully. 

He said: 'It’s the [season] where we really get to grips with Thomas’s sexuality and the impact that must have had on him, being gay in Edwardian times. 

'If you’re including a gay character, there’s an onus and responsibility to at least show what the impact of the time will be on him, and of him on that time. Thankfully we’ve done that, and I’m so proud as an actor that I’ve been used to tell that tale.’