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"Downton Abbey star Brendan Coyle has promised that the Christmas special has some &amp;quot;intense&amp;quot; scenes. Coyle, who plays Bates, explained that it was strange shooting scenes in which Bates has to go to court. &amp;quot;[It was] very atmospheric and intense, especially filming in the cells,&amp;quot; Coyle told TV Choice magazine. &amp;quot;Courts are designed to make you feel small, so when I walked up the stairs into the dock, it was pretty intimidating.&amp;quot; Coyle also revealed that the episodes scripts were &amp;quot;amazing&amp;quot; and explained that he is looking forward to seeing what happens to the other characters. However, Coyle joked that he can reveal &amp;quot;absolutely nothing&amp;quot; about the instalment, quipping: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s been nice talking to you and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I&amp;#039;ve spoken to the producers and I just can&amp;#039;t say.&amp;quot; Coyle&amp;#039;s co-star Dan Stevens has previously hinted that the episode, which will air at 9pm on ITV1 on Christmas Day, will feature further developments in the relationship between Matthew and Mary. &amp;gt; Downton Abbey Christmas special - First look in pictures "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/downton-abbey/news/a355785/downton-abbey-brendan-coyle-teases-court-scenes/>