One of the main characters of Downton Abbey might be taking a hiatus from the series.

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On Monday, Mirror mentioned that Allen Leech who plays Tom Branson might leave the show during the Christmas special, but not necessarily for forever.

"I think if he does leave, Tom will be leaving under his own steam and he won't be dead so it doesn't mean that he's leaving forever," the actor said.

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"I think if he does leave, there's always a chance that he will come back," Leech added. "Will I be sad? It's been the most incredible journey doing that show so I would be sad."

The actor then made it clear that there if Tom makes plans to go somewhere else, then no one should be too worried about it because it probably won't be for too long.

"But like I said, 'never say never,'" he said. "I'd like to finish that story out with all those people whenever that is. If he does leave it will be a nice break lately."

As for the story that's going to take place in the holiday season, Leech had to be careful on what exactly he could reveal.

"I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you," he said. "The only thing I could say is Tom is making a decision on whether he is going to stay or not and you'll all know on Christmas day in the UK."

Downton Abbey Season 5 will air in the United States on Sunday, January 4 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.

Tags: downton abbey television PBS