Siobhan Finneran, second from left, played villainous lady's maid O'Brien on PBS' "Downton Abbey." NICK BRIGGS/Masterpiece
"Downton Abbey" fans: be prepared. Your favorite Brit drama has lost another major character.
Actress Siobhan Finneran, who played the dastardly lady's maid O'Brien for the first three seasons of the series, will not return to the Abbey when the fourth season of the hit series debuts next fall in England and in January 2014 in the United States.
The actress confirmed the news to the mirror.co.uk website Friday.
"I'm not doing any more," she told the website. "O'Brien is a thoroughly despicable human being - that was great to play."
In the drama, her character was known as a conniving, scheming person who often teamed up with under butler Thomas Barrow in dastardly deeds until the two became involved in their own bitter feud. Her O'Brien even went so far as to make sure Cora, Countess of Grantham, slipped on a bar of soap and miscarried a possible heir to the abbey because she thought her mistress planned to fire her.
She previously talked about who much she enjoyed playing the character, reported the website.
"I actually have great fun being sniffy to everyone," said the 47-year-old, who also stars in the ITV-produced situation comedy "Benidorm" in England.
"I love O'Brien the most when she's spiteful and has a brilliant put-down. She’s a clever lady and a bad enemy to make."
She reportedly hoped her character would find romance – perhaps with someone else in service at the abbey.
"O'Brien with a boyfriend would be stupendous! Who would be brave enough to take her on a date? Kevin Doyle, who plays Joseph Molesley, and I are always speculating what our characters would be like on a date – it would be hilarious."
A "Downton Abbey" spokesperson has reportedly confirmed that the actress will not appear in the fourth season but did not say she would never return.
Fans of the costume drama were already rocked by the deaths of characters Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) last season.
Here, Finneran talks about her character's relationship on the show with fellow servant Thomas Barrows.
Watch Downton Abbey: O'Brien and Thomas on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
