Downton Abbey

Series four, episode seven
Okay, we get it – you’ve got Paul Giamatti. Having introduced the concept of Cora’s brother last year, Julian Fellowes dispatches Robert to America to deal with the mess he’s made. Which leaves Mary to fend for herself as the pigs arrive at Downton and almost instantly create havoc (as well as the circumstances for an entirely predictable thawing of relations), and Mrs Crawley to tend to Violet when she falls ill and starts babbling feverishly about drunk vicars.

Penelope Wilton and Maggie Smith come perilously close to stealing the show with a couple of cherishable scenes, but Michelle Dockery and Joanne Froggatt share perhaps the most touching moment tonight. And what of Anna? Last week’s trailer revealed that the villainous Mr Green would be back – and indeed he is. But the nagging suspicion remains that the big climaxes (Bates’s revenge, Edith’s baby, Giamatti and Shirley MacLaine) may be held back until Christmas. Fingers crossed that we’re thrown some sort of bone in the meantime.