Which actor plays the footman Jimmy Kent in Downton Abbey?

Ed Speleers plays the footman Jimmy Kent in Downton Abbey. Jimmy is introduced in the third series as one of two new footmen hired after the First World War, joining Alfred Nugent in the servants' hall.

Before arriving at Downton, Jimmy worked for Lady Anstruther and had been her favourite footman. His good looks and easy charm quickly attract attention from the maids, while Thomas Barrow becomes particularly interested in him. Jimmy's flirtatious behaviour leads Thomas to believe that the attraction might be mutual.

Jimmy becomes central to one of the series' storylines about homosexuality and social attitudes in the 1920s. Thomas kisses him while he is asleep, and Jimmy reacts with anger and disgust because male homosexual acts were still criminalized and heavily stigmatized in Britain at the time.

Speleers's Downton role is often confused with other servants played by recurring cast members. Thomas Howes plays William Mason, Michael Fox plays Andrew Parker, and Matt Milne plays Alfred Nugent—not Jimmy Kent.