Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery has revealed she is pregnant with her first child, debuting her baby bump at the London premiere of the franchise's final film. The 43-year-old actor, who has played Lady Mary Crawley for 15 years, wore a blue strapless gown at the event in Leicester Square.
Dockery is expecting her first child with husband Jasper Waller-Bridge, brother of Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whom she married in September 2023. The wedding at St Nicholas' Church in Chiswick was attended by her Downton co-stars Hugh Bonneville, Lesley Manville and Lesley Nicol.
The news comes seven years after the death of her fiancé, Irish publicist John Dineen, who died aged 34 from a rare form of cancer. Dockery met Waller-Bridge through a mutual friend in 2019, and they became engaged after spending time together at the Rome Film Festival.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, set in the 1930s, follows the 7th Earl of Grantham as he plans to pass his estate to Lady Mary. However, news of Mary's divorce from Henry Talbot puts her stewardship in jeopardy, threatening the family's ability to keep the abbey.
The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey gave the film three stars, describing it as 'proof that this franchise simply must end'. Creator Julian Fellowes said he made the film for fans and did not expect kind reviews, adding: 'I could tell you what it says beforehand.'
