‘Downton Abbey’ announce cast for the British drama’s 4th season

Shirley MacLaine will be returning to “Downton Abbey” next season, and opera star Kiri Te Kanawa is joining the cast.

Other new cast members and characters include:

Tom Cullen as Lord Gillingham, described as an old family friend of the Crawleys who visits the family as a guest for a house party (and who might be the one to mend Lady Mary Crawley’s broken heart).

 Nigel Harman will play a valet named Green.

 Harriet Walter plays Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager Countess.

Joanna David will play a guest role as the Duchess of Yeovil.

Julian Ovenden is cast as aristocrat Charles Blake.

“The addition of these characters can only mean more delicious drama, which is what ‘Downton Abbey’ is all about,” said “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton.

Meanwhile, the producers have confirmed that lady's maid Sarah O’Brien won’t be back. Siobhan Finneran, who played her, is leaving the show.

These announcements come shortly after the third season’s airing in the United States. It concluded with the heartbreaking death of popular Matthew Crawley in a car crash, leaving behind his newborn child and loving wife, Lady Mary Crawley.

Last season the wildly popular melodrama, set in early 20th century Britain, was the most-watched series on PBS since Ken Burns’ epic “The Civil War,” which first aired in 1990. The Nielsen Co. said 8.2 million viewers saw the “Downton” season conclusion.

Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter and Brendan Coyle are among its other returning stars.