These Downton Abbey Characters Were Supposed To Hook Up

Downton Abbey may have ended, but that doesn't mean we aren't ready to pounce on any behind-the-scenes gossip. Trust us: This reveal is a doozy. Castmembers Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore), Allen Leech (Tom Branson), and Joanne Froggatt attended Deadline's The Contenders Emmys event over the weekend, and plenty was discussed: There is a possibility of a Downton Abbey movie; Tom Branson was only intended to appear in three episodes and, oh, Matthew Crawley's one true love wasn't meant to be Lady Mary. What?! “Matthew Crawley was supposed to end up with Sybil," Leech shared. In the end, it was his character, Branson, who wed Sybil, who died in childbirth. Matthew, of course, married Sybil's sister Mary, then died in a car crash. The inconvenience of having both actors (Dan Stevens and Jessica Findlay Brown) leave the show may have doomed the Matthew/Sybil romance. To have one lover die is tragic; two seems careless.