Downton Abbey: a guide to the new cast Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Who is she? The Kiwi soprano who sang Handel's "Let The Bright Seraphim" at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in front of an estimated 600m viewers. Even Downton's ratings aren't in that league. Who will she play? In shock casting news, 69-year-old Dame Kiri will play... an opera singer. She performs at a party thrown by the Grantham family to lift the spirits of the grieving Lady Mary. Dame Harriet Walter A distinguished actress renowned for her work with the RSC as well as screen roles in the likes of Atonement and Law & Order UK. She's also the niece of Christopher Lee. The Dowager Countess's friend, confidante and sparring partner Lady Shackleton - who is just as formidable as Dame Maggie Smith's waspishly witty character. The characters are old school chums, despite Walter being 16 years Smith's junior in real life. Gary Carr Who is he? Accomplished National Theatre actor who recently starred in BBC Three's army bomb disposal comedy Bluestone 42. Carr will be Downton Abbey's first ever black cast member. Who will he play? Jazz singer Jack Ross. Anyone would think Julian Fellowes had been watching Stephen Poliakoff's Dancing On The Edge. Tom Cullen Welsh actor named Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards in 2011 for playing a gay lifeguard in cult romance Weekend. He's been seen on the small screen in Black Mirror and Ridley Scott-produced miniseries World Without End. Family friend Lord Anthony Gillingham, who attends the party to cheer up Lady Mary and becomes her latest suitor. Matthew who? Julian Ovenden Son of the Queen's chaplain, St Paul's chorister, old Etonian, Oxford graduate... Ovenden's credentials are impeccable. He's a stalwart of the West End stage who has crooned at the Proms, while his TV CV includes a turn in another ITV period drama, Foyle's War, plus jazz-hands Broadway drama Smash. Dashing aristocrat Charles Blake. Could he be the one to mend Lady Mary's broken heart? Possibly with a jolly sing-song? Joanna David A veteran actress best known to TV viewers from two landmark BBC period adaptations: she played Mrs Bayham Badger in Bleak House and Mrs Gardiner in Pride And Prejudice. She's married to Edward Fox and is the mother of actress Emilia and actor Freddie. The Duchess Of Yeovil, a house guest at Bleak House. Oops, I mean Pemberley. Sorry, Downton Abbey. That's the one. Nigel Harman Harman made his name in EastEnders as mean "n" moody Dennis Rickman, aka "mini-Den," who punched Phil Mitchell, married Sharon Watts and took his shirt off a lot. Since Harman left the soap, he's become a fixture on the West End stage, starring in Guys And Dolls, Shrek The Musical and A Chorus Of Disapproval. A charismatic visiting valet named Green. Will he side with Bates (hurrah!) or Thomas (boo!)?