‘Downton Abbey’ season 4: Newt Gingrich on Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt’s roles

We have learned some pretty interesting things during the “Downton Abbey” hiatus, with one of the most intriguing ones at the moment being that none other than former Presidential candidate and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is a devoted fan of the show. He’s not someone who really opened up too much about pop culture during the campaign, but what is nice about his new chat with Vanity Fair is that rather than trying to get into politics or anything that could be considered polarizing, the entire chat was really just about the show, whether it be the characters or some of the criticism leveled at it.

Gingrich first of all was open to giving suggestions out to some of the characters: he advised Laura Carmichael’s Edith to be more like Sybil than Mary, and then also speculated on whether or not Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) are going to be able to be happy from here on out:

“I think Anna will find happiness, and he will find himself permanently frightened of relaxing and being happy. Bates is in some ways noble but distant and stoic.”

Gingrich guest-starred on “Parks and Recreation” at one point, and he speculated on what sort of role he would ever play here if something was ever offered to him:

“It would be great to play [David] Lloyd George [the British prime minister (1916–1922) and member of the Liberal Party]. (I am too old to play the younger Churchill in the series, but if they get to 1940, it would be wonderful to try to be Churchillian.)”

What do you think about some of Gingrich’s comments, and do you like it when people in politics talk TV? If you want to see what TV icon wanted the role of Martha (which later went to Shirley MacLaine), be sure to check out the story over at the link here.

Photo: ITV