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Unfortunately only around September 11th. 
The trailer can be expected on August 30th.
So we have at least a month to wait until we know more!
Today we found out that Poppy Drayton started filming another movie this week. It doesn't mean she can't be in the CS, since we don't know how big her part in it is. Maybe she is able to do both, it wouldn't be the first time that one actor of the show manages to do two projects at once, but it is the first little setback in our "Madeline will be back" theory, I'm afraid.
And it reopens the question: Who in heaven could they have in store for Tom, if not Madeline Allsop??
Is it possible they leave him unattached yet ANOTHER series?? I find that hard to believe. Especially since Allen said Tom is looking for love. And Michelle said "They (Mary and Tom) are both keen on finding love, just not with each other."
Will he say goodbye to Sarah Bunting in Episode 3 or 4 and then just end the series without a love interest?? |
I find it hard to imagine a new love interest won't at least be introduced for Tom in S5. There is no reason to wait for the very last season to get it rolling, especially since it can always be dragged out in angsty fashion for a long time anyway. That's how they like to do it.
And we know Sarah leaves in 5.03 or 5.04, and that Tom is "looking for love." IMO if Allen said Tom is "keen to find love" then odds are he will at least meet someone who makes his heart pound during S5.
I'm disappointed about Poppy's other project but as you said, a lot of the actors have done other projects while filming the show. Hugh Bonneville did a big-budget Hollywood film during S4 filming, and only missed one episode. Allen Leech was in a play on the West End while filming S2 (as was Samantha Bond during the S4 CS filming), and Brendan Coyle and Sophie McShera have both spent time on other series during S5 filming.
Poppy's movie is a low-budget one with mostly unknown young actors. The production company's website even states that it specializes in "low-budget" projects. And she's filming in the UK, which means she could go back and forth a bit if necessary. Especially if she only appears in the CS briefly, like Gregson did in the S3 CS.
Most signs still point to her having been filming S5: she's steadily followed new Downton cast and crew members on twitter between February and May, and until now her schedule appears to have been open for filming the show from 5.03-5.08.
So IMO this project might interfere with CS filming, but it certainly doesn't preclude her from being in it at all. It's not like she'd be a main character (yet) anyway.
Actually it turns out Lily James is also filming another movie right now, with Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller about a chef. I forget the name but they just started in London a couple of days ago and will be filming for a month. So that overlaps with the CS filming a lot. I don't think she has a very big role but she'll still have to juggle the two projects.