Downton Abbey

That very superior soap opera Downton Abbey returns to ITV1 this evening at 9pm with the addition of Shirley MacLaine. What will the Dowager Countess of Grantham make of her? I must admit I'm hooked. Even the BBC has got excited about it (CLICK)! The Telegraph has posted a slide show of characters and their Series 2 cliffhangers for those of us who can't recall all the convoluted plot lines (CLICK). Here's Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary, whose wedding to Matthew is finally in the offing. And what of John Bates, languishing in prison? Will the Roaring Twenties perk him up?