they would want their own child. Bates believes they must be content as they are, but Anna continues to believe that she cannot give him what he needs. Bates does not accept this, and insists that she alone is enough for him. In episode 2, without his knowledge, Anna visits Dr Ryder in London, who offers to perform a cervical stitch to rectify the problem with her carrying a child to term, but she must become pregnant again first. Anna returns to Downton in a lighter mood, which does not go unnoticed by Bates. He continues to notice the change in her mood after Anna tells Mary that she believes she is pregnant again. Still in the dark about her pregnancy, Anna begins to experience pains in episode 4, for which Lady Mary rushes her down to London, claiming to Bates that the emergency is hers, not Anna's. However, Bates is not fooled, and when she returns to Downton, tells her he believes he knows what took them to London, believing the worst has happened. Anna, however, tells him that the news is nothing sad and that actually, she's pregnant and expecting their child. Bates is overjoyed by the news. In episode 5, Bates is insistent that nothing will go wrong with the pregnancy, when Anna begins to worry. In episode 6 he insists on paying for Anna to have an appointment with Dr Ryder when she begins to experience lingering pains again, and asks that she stop keeping him in the dark. Despite the pains, Anna is fine, as her body is adjusting to pregnancy. Bates becomes protective over Anna at the car racing at Brooklands, when she insists in running after Lady Mary after a fatal crash on the track. His protectiveness leads Baxter to discover Anna's pregnancy. Whilst Anna is pregnant, Bates continues to attempt selling his mother's house in London as well as purchasing a house in the north. Bates does not say much about his family or childhood, though he does mention that his late mother was Irish and he has a Scottish grandmother. Anna Bates Anna May Bates (née Smith) (played by Joanne Froggatt) (b. 1886) is lady's maid to Lady Mary at Downton Abbey; previously she was first parlour maid and head housemaid. She is 26 at the beginning of the series. She is very trustworthy, polite, and loyal to the Crawley family