Who is mr carson in downton abbey

When Thomas 's unwanted homosexual advance on Jimmy is reported to him, Carson responds with revulsion and says that Thomas is "foul". Carson will allow him to resign with a reference, but only as he wants him to go quietly. When threatened by Jimmy that Thomas must have no reference, or he will go to the police, Carson reluctantly gives in to this.

Only the intervention of Lord Grantham and Bates saves Thomas' job. When asked who will tell James that Thomas is staying, Carson says that Lord Grantham wants him to stay so he should tell James. After Tom is exiled, he tells Mrs Hughes he knew that Tom would bring shame and dishonor on the house.

He is later deeply affected, as are the rest of the staff, by Sybil's death following complications from childbirth. Over time, he comes to respect Mr Branson even more, and comes to accept him as a member of the family. When Lord Grantham insists on keeping Mary sheltered following her husband's death, Tom goes to Carson as he feels he does not know who else to turn to.

He insists they need to help bring Mary back to the world. Out of love for Mary, Carson tells her she is letting herself be defeated. She is angry at him for doing this, but later breaks down and cries in his arms. Charles Grigg writes to Carson saying he has ended up in the workhouse and needs help. Carson, still upset with Grigg, throws the letter in the trash. But Mrs Hughes finds it, reads it, then finds Grigg and sets him up at Isobel Crawley's house for a time.

Carson is upset at what she has done, but she insists he needs to stitch up this "open wound" and asks if he feels nothing for this man he sang and danced with. It is revealed the split between Carson and Grigg was a woman they both loved, Alice Neal , who chose Grigg. When Grigg gets a job and prepares to leave, he bids Carson farewell at the train station.

He reveals that Alice died five years ago, but they split up long before. But he tells him she told him Carson was the better man. They shake hands, and later Mrs Hughes gives Carson a portrait of Alice to put on his desk.

She insists that they cannot have her back at the house, but Carson says they must. He feels that her ladyship having already lost a daughter and son-in-law, it would be too much for her if she felt that Lady Sybil's husband was "unworthy". He also notes that Edna seems to have gotten some training and perhaps she has entered the real world.

Mrs Hughes nevertheless is afraid her return is a ticking bomb, which proves to be true when Edna heartlessly tries to seduce, then blackmail Tom. Fortunately she manages to save him and send Edna away again. Carson expresses regret only for the disruption to her ladyship but admits he never cared much for Edna.

Mrs Hughes tells him he'll feel less sorry when she tells him the whole story one day, and that they were mad as hatters to let her back in the house. Carson continues to express a longing for the past at Downton and resisting change, such as when Nellie Melba and Jack Ross both come to Downton. However he admits Ross was a decent fellow, and praises England leading the world in the fight against slavery.

Still he is not a fan of the jazz music that plays that night. When Alfred decides to pursue cooking, Carson encourages him, saying he is a hard worker. Later, when Alfred does not get accepted, Carson insists he keep working hard, and later praises him for expressing gratitude for the kindness he received from him and the family after he replaces a candidate who dropped out.

He says gratitude is what he likes to see. When Molesley initially hesitates to replace Alfred as a footman something Carson thought he would not do considering his difficulty finding work , Carson is really upset with him and refuses to take him on even when Alfred does leave. Carson is asked to be the Chairman of the War Memorial in Downton Village, instead of the more obvious and traditional choice of Lord Grantham.

Despite the committee's insistence that Carson is better suited for the post, as he knew the soldiers and their families, he insists that His Lordship be made Patron, else he will not serve. During the course of his chairmanship, he faces difficulties deciding where the Memorial ought to be held and goes head to head with His Lordship, as well as Mrs Hughes. He would like to create a Garden of Remembrance, while the others want a stone edifice in the centre of the village.

After a disagreement with Mrs Hughes however, Carson is quick to acquiesce, and he tells her that the bonus of his changing his mind is that they are on the same side once more. Later on in the series, Mrs Patmore attempts to convince him through Mrs Hughes to include her nephew, Archie Philpots in the Memorial, to which Carson strongly disagrees with. He feels that it would be disrespectful to the men that stayed and fought for their country, to include a soldier who had been shot for cowardice.

This causes some discomfort between the Cook and himself, and so he makes a special effort to support and advise her when she is considering investing in a property.

Inspired by their visit to Mrs Patmore's cottage then, Carson nervously asks Mrs Hughes if she would consider investing in a property with him. His idea is that they could rent it out or run and Bed and Breakfast, so that they might increase their savings by the time they retired. While her answer to him is not direct, it is clear that she is overcome by this business proposal, and that she thinks his intentions might be to venture farther than that in the future.

Patmore goes twice to speak with Carson on behalf of Mrs. Hughes regarding the wedding. Carson doesn't initially understand what that means, but when his head clears up, he feels embarrassed.

In fact, he hasn't thought of everything that involves getting married and living together, when Mrs. Hughes had worried about it and she doesn't want to feel absurd in her husband's eyes.

So, on the night of the celebrations for Anna and Bates' release from trial, they talk about the matter in a room and Carson tells her that if she had second thoughts about the wedding and no longer wanted to marry him, he would have accepted it. However, Carson had misunderstood, and together they hold this conversation, directly from Episode 6.

Hughes : Before we do I know I've been putting you off Carson : I wouldn't want you to think that I'd inveigled you into an arrangement which was not what you'd expected. Carson : Right. Well, if you've had second thoughts, I think we should let the staff know in the morning.

I won't make a big announcement. We'll just tell one or two people and let it come out naturally. There'll be a bit of a nine days' wonder, of course, but we'll get over it. Hughes : But you misunderstand me. I was afraid I'd be a disappointment to you. That I couldn't hope to please you as I am now. But if you're sure Hughes : Well, then, Mr Carson If you want me, you can have me. To quote Oliver Cromwell, warts and all.

Carson is a man who takes his job seriously. He is very strict about the standards at Downton, and is upset whenever they are disrupted or breached by his coworkers.

However, he does have a deep respect and admiration for the Crawley family and others of the "upstairs" world. His hidden soft side was shown when he comforts Lady Mary Crawley, as she cries. It was clear to everyone that, although he adored all the girls equally, he clearly had a favorite in Mary. His soft side was even more revealed when he heard baby Sybbie Branson crying in the nursery.

He picked up the crying infant and comforted her, reminding him of her mother, the late Lady Sybil when she was that age. He took Sybbie into the library to help calm her down. Carson also had a favorite subordinate in footman Alfred Nugent , even though at first, he didn't think he would work out, as he had worked in a hotel, and was too tall, not to mention that he was the nephew of Cora's lady's maid, Sarah O'Brien.

He would encourage Alfred, although at times, he would admonish him for his errors. He also had a favorite in the late William Mason, who he knew was homesick and under stress as he was bullied by Thomas Barrow.

Carson and Thomas were arch-rivals. Thomas was, quite bluntly, a thief. He would steal things, and try to blame things on others. Carson tried, but failed to break up a fight between Barrow and the late William Mason, whom he had bullied mercilessly.

After Thomas insulted William one time too many, William beat him up. At first, he was unsure of how John Bates would fare, because of his war injury and his limp, which required a walking stick, but he would become more fond of him and considered him his hardest-working subordinate.

Carson was much harder on footman, James as he James was often belittling Alfred for his dreams and ambitions. Captain Brown. Show all 7 episodes. Malcolm Young. Frank Evans. Nathan Green. Reader segment "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" voice. Jenkins - Suspicion: Part 2 Sir Frank Luckton.

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