Previews for this Sunday’s Downton Abbey series 4, episode 7 show Lady Violet in seemingly deep trouble. Will she make it out?

Those who watched Downton Abbey series 4, episode 6 this past Sunday saw in a preview for next week’s story that Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) takes ill and is bed-ridden for what may be the whole episode. A similar situation happened to Cora in a previous series but she turned out fine, so we don’t think Violet will die from this sudden and painful looking illness. On the other hand, it does worry us when we wonder how many series Smith may be interested in appearing in going forward.

Reads Downton Abbey series 4, episode 7’s synopsis just released by ITV:

Cora’s playboy brother Harold is in a fix and Robert must travel to America to help bail him out, whilst a new farming venture at Downton sees Blake and Mary forced to put aside their differences.

When Violet is taken ill she finds help comes from an unlikely corner.

With romantic tensions causing disharmony downstairs, things don’t quite go to plan when Mrs Hughes, Mrs Patmore and Carson conspire to keep the peace.

See the trailer for the storyline in which many scenes are previewed:

Harold will be played by Paul Giamatti who is set to debut in the Christmas Special airing later this year on ITV. It’s possible that his role may carry into series 5 if his plot point is one that requires him to spend a little more time at Downton. Even though he’s brought up in the preview above, we don’t think we will be seeing him until a few weeks from now.

Photos from the episode show Jack and Rose enjoying a quiet date on the river, while Tom has a new love interest in the form of Sarah Bunting.

Downton Abbey series 4, episode 7 airs Sunday, November 2 at 9 p.m. GMT.