Downton Abbey is currently in the midst of filming its fourth season and although the actors are forbidden from sharing details on the upcoming installment, a few of them did elaborate on what's to come.

While conducting a recent interview with Radio Times, Allen Leech (Tom Branson) addressed the return of the infamous Shirley MacLaine (Martha).

"You've got a British acting legend and you have a Hollywood acting legend so sitting in a room with two of them is great," he said.

Series creator Julian Fellowes also spoke about MacLaine and her dynamic with Maggie Smith (Dowager Countess of Grantham), and how it will carry over into season 4. Although the communication between Martha and the Dowager Countess last season was kind of limited, they clearly didn't get along well.

"I think Maggie's actually looking forward to getting Shirley back so they can have another go at it - round two," Fellowes said. "We've got to call it a Downton version of rumble in the jungle. Bashing in the pantry."

In other recent Downton news, new speculation surrounding the love life of Thomas (Rob James-Collier) has been lingering on the Internet. Siobhan Finneran (O'Brien) recently made the announcement that she was departing Downton after the third season for greener pastures, which has posed the obvious question regarding whether or not he'll have a replacement.

James-Collier spoke to TV Guide about the dynamic between his character and O'Brien, which nabbed Favorite Feud honors on the Fan Favorites list.

"Our fans are obviously highly intelligent people. We thank them. There are just too many nice people in the Abbey. We're the complete antithesis," he said.

Downton Abbey is set to premiere its fourth season in the U.S. on Jan. 5, 2014, according to The Huffington Post.

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Downton abbey, Television