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"Tom Ellis has ruled out starring in the next series of Downton Abbey. The Miranda actor was rumoured to have auditioned for the role of Lady Mary&amp;#039;s new love \u00ADinterest and been shortlisted by producers.  An ITV source said: &amp;quot;It was an absolute no-brainer to get him in for an audition. We know that Tom&amp;#039;s got a lot of other options at the moment but if he does get the role it will be an incredible opportunity for him. &amp;quot;A lot of the current cast have become global superstars. And it is always a bit of a coup for us to attract a \u00ADmajor BBC star to a flagship ITV show like Downton \u00ADAbbey.&amp;quot; However, Ellis has since tweeted: &amp;quot;OK, so it&amp;#039;s been lovely to hear all the congrats for Downton but the truth is I&amp;#039;m not going to be in it... but thank you for your messages.&amp;quot; He recently signed up to play Victor Frankenstein in new ABC pilot Gothica. The show is billed as a &amp;quot;gothic soap&amp;quot; weaving together the mythology and stories of classic literary figures such as Frankenstein, Dracula and Dorian Gray. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/downton-abbey/news/a461195/tom-ellis-rules-out-downton-abbey-role/>