Downton Abbey casts Gary Carr as first black character

Hit ITV period drama criticised for lack of diversity is no longer 'the whitest show on earth'

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DOWNTON Abbey is "no longer the whitest TV show on earth", says Jezebel. Why? The show has announced its first ever black character, a "charismatic and charming" jazz singer called Jack Ross. Former Death in paradise actor Gary Carr will play Ross in the show's fourth series, which will arrive on screens in Autumn 2013.

His casting comes after hit ITV drama's creator Julian Fellowes said he wanted to "open up the show ethnically". But for Filipa Jodelka in The Guardian, the news makes "uneasy reading". "Downton Abbey haven't introduced a character who is black. They have introduced a Black Character, which apparently warrants a press release", she writes. "By making his inclusion a talking point, the makers of Downton Abbey have placed a hundredweight of pressure on Gary Carr's shoulders".

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