Michelle Dockery confirms pregnancy with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s brother at Downton Abbey premiere

Michelle Dockery has confirmed she is expecting a baby with Jasper Waller-Bridge while walking the Downton Abbey red carpet at London’s Leicester Square on Wednesday (September 3).

The 43-year-old actor walked the third film’s carpet in a powder blue dress, cradling her blossoming baby bump, alongside her film producer husband, whose sister is Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

The Downton actress married the Fleabag creator’s younger sibling in a 2023 ceremony, surrounded by her Downton co-stars at St Nicholas’ church in Chiswick.

They tied the knot in a 45-minute ceremony, with the likes of Lily James, Laura Carmichael, and Joanne Froggatt in attendance.

Other guests included Hugh Bonneville, Lesley Manville, and Happy Valley star James Norton. Phoebe Waller-Bridge and her partner Martin McDonagh were also there on the special day.

The couple were first introduced by mutual friends in 2019 and went on to announce they were engaged in a Times announcement in 2022.

Before Dockery met Waller-Bridge, she was engaged to Irish publicist John Dineen, who died in 2015 at the age of 34 after receiving a diagnosis of a rare form of cancer 15 months prior.

Dockery is now returning to the screen as Lady Mary Talbot (née Crawley) in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, after first joining the period drama in 2010. Set in 1930, the film sees Lady Mary in the wake of her scandalous divorce. 

Of the upcoming third Downton film, Dockery has said the final film will include a touching tribute to the late Dame Maggie Smith.

Maggie’s character, the Dowager Countess, died in the 2022 film Downton Abbey: A New Era.

Dame Maggie then died in September at the age of 89, making the new movie all the more meaningful for the cast, who adored the late acting star.

Michelle told Collider: ‘It’s a beautiful film. For us, it was such a treat to be able to come back together again. It’s a real tribute to Maggie Smith, the film.’

US actor Paul Giamatti, 57, will also make an appearance in the film in the role of Harold Levinson, a character he played for one episode in 2013.

Michelle admitted to feeling mixed emotions about Downton Abbey coming to an end, particularly in the wake of Dame Maggie’s death.

She said: ‘This time around, I think we really relished every minute. It being the last, it felt really, really special. Like anything, when something comes to an end, it’s emotional but just such a happy place to be.’

Metro contacted Michelle Dockery’s representatives for comment. 

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale arrives in cinemas on September 12.

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