‘Downton Abbey’ Season 5 Spoilers: Casting Rumors Revealed; Who Will Be Joining PBS Series When British Drama Returns?

We’re totally down with the new cast of “Downtown Abbey.” As the PBS series wraps up its current season 4, rumors have begun circulating of who will be added to the season 5 cast. But don’t get your knickers in a twist! The confirmed list of actors who will be joining the British drama has been leaked.

According to reports, Richard E. Grant will be joining the “Downton Abbey” cast as Simon Bricker, a guest of the Granthams who pays the town a visit. You may know Grant from his role in the 1992 film “Dracula” or as the voice of Barkis Bittern from the animation “Corpse Bride.”

Anna Chancellor will also be joining the PBS family as a guest star who takes on the character of Lady Anstruther. You probably remember Chancellor from her role in “Four Wedding and a Funeral” or the evil stepmother in the 2003 romcom “What A Girl Wants.”

Last but not least is Rade Shebedgia, who is coming onto the “Downton Abbey” set as a Russian refugee, Kuragin, who has fled the Russian Revolution after the First World War. The internationally acclaimed actor has been in several flicks from “Eyes Wide Shut” to “Taken 2.”

And we’re not the only ones excited to see the new actors appear on screen. “Downton Abbey’s” executive producer Gareth Neame, the managing director of Carnival Films, expressed his enthusiasm for adding the three gifted actors to the cast. “We are delighted to welcome these talented actors to the world of ‘Downton.’ The characters they play are set to bring yet more excitement and intrigue to the show," he said.

Season 5 of the PBS series is reported to return at Christmas 2014 with another feature-length episode. And although we’re thrilled to see the new cast members in action, we’re also sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for the returning stars Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Samantha Bond, Laura Carmichael, Lily James, Allen Leech, Brendan Coyle, Joanne Froggatt, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Rob James-Collier, Ed Speleers, Kevin Doyle, Raquel Cassidy, David Robb, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Daisy Lewis, Douglas Reith, Jeremy Swift and Andrew Scarborough to make their season 5 debut on one of the highest-rated shows on American television.

Season 4 of “Downtown Abbey” will air their finale Feb. 23 on PBS.