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She spent 15 years playing the iconic Lady Mary in ITV’s hit period drama Downton Abbey and its spin-off films.
But it looks like it won’t be too long until Michelle Dockery takes on an altogether different role.
The actress, who turns 44 next month, was spotted with her blossoming baby bump as she headed out for a cosy lunch date with her husband, Jasper Waller-Bridge.
Wearing a red and black oversized coat and red woollen hat, the star appeared relaxed as the couple laughed and chatted ahead of their midweek meal at The River Cafe in Hammersmith, west London.
Michelle and television producer Jasper, 38, the brother of Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, met in 2019 after being introduced by mutual friends.
They married in September 2023 in front of a star-studded crowd, including many of Michelle’s Downton Abbey co-stars such as Lily James, Hugh Bonneville and Laura Carmichael, who played her on-screen sister Lady Edith and was bridesmaid on the big day.
Michelle revealed that she and Jasper were expecting their first child at the London premiere of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale in September, where she appeared in a dusky blue gown with a prominent bump.
When asked how she would say goodbye to her character, Michelle said: ‘I don’t think I will ever say goodbye to Mary or Downton.
Mary will always be part of me, as will Downton Abbey as a whole. We are such a family that, for us, it never really ends.’
Michelle has not confirmed when the baby – her first – is due.
She was previously engaged to PR director John Dineen, who died from a rare form of cancer in 2015.
Her next on-screen role will be as The Mail on Sunday’s columnist, former British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, in The Queen Of Fashion, a biographical drama about the life of fashion stylist Isabella Blow.