Downton Abbey actor Dan Stevens' deadly dilemma: Should he stay or should he go?

PUBLISHED: 18:19 EST, 27 December 2012 | UPDATED: 19:09 EST, 27 December 2012

Downton Abbey scriptwriter Julian Fellowes filmed the dramatic ending of the Christmas special hoping that star Dan Stevens would change his mind about leaving.

Though viewers saw his character, Matthew Crawley, lying motionless after being injured in a car crash, the door was left open for him to make a second miraculous recovery (he overcame being wheelchair bound in last year's festive episode).

My source says: 'Until a few weeks ago, Julian was hopeful Dan was going to change his mind and agree to come back for part of series four next year.

Resting In Peace? Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockerey)

Resting In Peace? Downton's Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, and his wife Lady Mary, played by Michelle Dockerey were yet again the focus of a Christmas Special

'That's why it was left ambiguous at the end of the episode whether Matthew was dead. There was even the option for the scene to be removed.'

I'm told Lord Fellowes is trying to look at Dan's exit positively, because it gives him the opportunity to re-invent the show for the new series, which begins filming in February.

'Big changes will be coming to Downton next year,' my insider says.

'Expect the former chauffeur Tom Branson (Allen Leech) to take on a much larger role with Matthew out of the picture.'

Open question: The scene where Matthew Crawley, played by Stevens, crashes his car and dies could even have been deleted completely had Dan decided to stay at Downton

Will ITV's ice queen Pam crack up?

Skate expectations: Pamela Anderson and Matt Evers can hopefully attract viewers

Pamela Anderson is being paid a six-figure sum in a bid to turn around the flagging ratings of ITV's winter entertainment flagship Dancing On Ice when it returns next week.

So perhaps it is no surprise there are fears the emotionally fragile former Baywatch actress will be unable to cope with acid-tongued judge Jason Gardiner.

The caustic Aussie, who has returned to the Sunday night series on his own terms after viewers switched off in droves following his controversial exit last year, insists he will not ease back on his put-downs to satisfy bosses — despite concerns that Pammi, 45, could quit the show.

'She won't get any special treatment,' a defiant Gardiner tells me.

'I'm excited by the signing, but if she's not good I'm going to tell her.

'I don't care that she's Pamela Anderson because when you're on ice, to me you're just a contestant.

'Besides, I don't think she is as fragile as people think. A private tape of some of her most intimate moments found its way onto the internet, so she's used to being under scrutiny.'

However, my sources say Pamela, who is being prepped by professional skater Matt Evers, is already struggling with the intensity of the show.

'She's used to being in America where she gets treated like a goddess,' a programme insider tells me.

'There's none of that for her here. Dancing On Ice presenters Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley are higher up the pecking order than her.'

ITV has backed down on plans to screen its new period drama Mr Selfridge head-to-head with the BBC's Call The Midwife.

While the dramas will air after each other on Sunday nights, the BBC1 series retains its coveted 8pm slot.

Producers are considering a major change to the fading X Factor format — introducing a 'danger zone' during the performance show on Saturday nights.

That would see the three contestants with the lowest votes revealed at the end.

The aim is to avoid a situation like this year, when the impressive Ella Henderson and eventual winner James Arthur finished up in the bottom two in the same week, because voters believed they would get to the next round easily.

An X Factor insider says: 'It would give viewers an extra incentive to vote for their favourite.'