British historical fiction hit "Downton Abbey" will reportedly be tackling some current issues during Season 5, which will premiere in the U.S. next year.

Season 5 of "Downton Abbey" is already airing in Britain on ITV. According to Mirror Online, the episode scheduled to premiere on Sept. 28 features Lady Mary, played by Michelle Dockery, asking her maid to buy her contraception.

"Lord Gillingham, played by Tom Cullen, has been growing ever closer to the Downton Lady and it seems everything will be put in place for them to finally seal the deal -- even though they are not married," the site reported.

Joanne Froggatt's Anna Bates will reportedly accept the task and go to a chemist to "play her part," according to the tabloid.

"Anna tells her that Gillingham should be the one sorting everything out, but Mary replies: 'I don't think one should rely on a man for that,'" Mirror reported.

Earlier this month, Dockery teased that her character would start to accept the death of her husband Matthew, who was played by Dan Stevens.

"Mary is, she is kind of toying with the idea of having an intimate relationship with a man before she decides to settle down with him," she said. "When I read that I thought 'God this is incredibly modern for the time.' But of course it wasn't, that was what was happening. There's much more comparison now in relation to the times than there was in the beginning."

Rob James-Collier also told Daily Mail that a storyline will center on his character, Thomas Barrow, pushing himself into an "abyss" by trying to change his homosexuality.

"It's quite a harrowing storyline and I hope it is," he said. "Because if it isn't, I haven't done it justice."

Season 5 of "Downton Abbey" starts in the U.S. on PBS on Jan. 4, 2015.

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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