Another Downton Abbey Cast Member Quits

Who is leaving Downton Abbey this time? Find out, here...

Change is afoot at Downton Abbey. After losing key cast member Dan Stevens in the Christmas special, yet another member of the Grantham household is to go - this time mean maid O'Brien.

Siobhan Finneran, who plays the sour character has revealed she will be leaving the show next season.

DOWNTON ABBEY SERIES 4: ON-SET PHOTOS

‘I signed up to do three series and that was all I wanted to do,’ the actress told the Daily Mail.

‘I talked it through with my family and it was the right decision for all of us.

What pushed her over the edge?

'I had great fun doing it but I just didn’t want to do it any more. I decided this before we even did the last series,' she said.

'When I stop loving something, I stop doing it.’

So what will become of Lady Grantham's favourite scheming maid? ‘I have no idea how they will explain my absence,’ she laughs.

‘Downton has really pushed me to a new level in my career,’ she says. ‘But it’s not like I have a big career plan. They are about as useful as a birth plan; they should be burned.’

Siobhan goes on to star in BBC 1 drama The Syndicate, and it seems there will be plenty of new faces at Downton Abbey to fill her place.

Miranda heartthrob Tom Ellis has confirmed he's joining the show, while Jack Ross will become Downton's first black character.

What do you think of Siobhan Finneran's decision to leave Downton Abbey? Let us know in the comments box below...

DOWNTON ABBEY SERIES 4: ON-SET PHOTOS

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