Our favourite autumn guilty pleasure returns next weekend and fans up and down the country will be settling down with a cup of tea, eager to see what’s new with the Crawleys.

Here are 10 things we’re hoping to see in the fifth series of Downton Abbey (contains spoilers for Series 1-4)…

 

Lady Edith standing up for herself

Edith is the unluckiest Lady in all of Downton. Most recently seen feeling sorry for herself after the disappearance of her lover and giving her illegitimate daughter into the keep of the Downton farmers, its high time Edith stood up for herself. She needs to take back her daughter, start writing again and get a bit of self respect!

 

A nicer Thomas

In real life no one behaves the way that Thomas does in Downton. He revels in being mean, but there’s no motivation behind him and after four years (or 12 years in Downton Abbey time) we’ve no idea what his end goal is. I’d like him to soften up a bit, but I can’t help but feel all of Thomas’s wicked ways are going to come back to bite him.

 

Some happiness for Anna and Bates

Poor Mr and Mrs Bates; things haven’t been easy for them have they? Their relationship has been plagued by evil ex-wives, prison, murder and then Series 4 saw one of the most dramatic events of their marriage; Mr Green raping Anna. It’s high time these two lovebirds had something good happen. Please, give them something to smile about!

 

More Paul Giamatti

It’s always fun when the Grantham’s American relatives show up, and it’s never been more fun than when Harold Levinson made an appearance with his no nonsense attitude and cash to burn. Whether he comes back to Downton or if the Crawleys head Stateside (I would LOVE it to be the latter) we need some more of Cora’s playboy brother and to see him actually share some scenes with the regular cast this time.

 

More on-screen Lord Grantham

Robert was annoyingly absent for most of Series 4 whilst he was in the US helping to support Harold during his legal woes. In reality Hugh Bonneville’s absence was due to filming of the the show clashing with his commitments to George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, but hopefully this series will see him with a bit more to do.

 

Lady Mary making a decision about her love life

Mary’s indecision is infuriating beyond belief; come on, Mary… Charles Blake or Evelyn Napier, who’s it going to be?!

 

Tom Branson heading back to his political roots

Cast your minds back to Branson in Series 1 and 2; taking Lady Sybil to political rallies and fighting for Irish freedom. Recently he’s become a bit too aristocratic and it’s definitely time for him to get back to his roots. Plus it’s always exciting to see the sparks flare between Tom and Robert when they talk politics.

 

Mrs Crawley and Lord Merton getting together

If I was on Tumblr I’d be shipping these two. It was obvious to everyone watching the Christmas special that they were made for each other. Isobel has had her fair share of misery recently and something good needs to happen for her. Make a move, Lord Merton!

 

Lady Rose to let her hair down

In the lead up to Series 4 it looked as though Lady Rose was going to be bringing some drama to Downton. Is it just me, or did she turn out to be a bit of a damp squib? Her brief dalliance with a married man in Series 3 was fun and her infatuation with black jazz singer Jack Ross in Series 4 was briefly diverting, but come Series 5 we want some full on flapper dress wearing, champagne chugging, Charleston dancing action from Rose. She’s supposed to be a Bright Young Thing, it’s time she started acting like one!

 

Quips from the Dowager

Because, let’s face it, without the Dowager’s put-downs we might as well just be watching EastEnders with posh frocks and that is something no one wants to think about.

 

Series 5 begins at 9pm on Sunday 21 September on ITV.

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What do you want to see in Series 5? Let us know below…