'Downton Abbey' writers may have plans for the Crawley's pooch Isis to soon meet her maker, but the timing of the dog's demise does not correlate to the rise of the Islamic State causing mayhem in Iraq and Syria.
Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley on the British TV series, denied "recent speculation" that the yellow Labrador would die on the show because it shared a name with the terrorist organization. The idea seemed more evident when (SPOILER ALERT) the Crawley family learned Isis had cancer in the Nov. 2 episode that aired on ITV in the U.K.
"Anyone who genuinely believes the Series 5 storyline (1924) involving the animal was a reaction to recent world news is a complete berk," Bonneville wrote on his personal website.
The aristocratic family adopted Isis in season two after the death of their dog Pharaoh, another yellow Lab. They named her after the Egyptian goddess Isis, the goddess of nature and magic.
"At the time the dog was named, and up to and including the majority of filming of series five, no one was using that acronym to describe a terror group. It is an unfortunate coincidence," the spokesman told The Independent.
Filming began on the current season in February, but the scripts were written last year before the jihadi group split off. "Downton Abbey" has received backlash from fans about the troubling name, according to The Independent.
On the show, Lord and Lady Grantham first noticed their canine friend looking "terribly listless" in the Oct. 26 episode.
"I wonder if she's picked up a germ," the eldest Crawley daughter, Lady Mary, questioned. "Maybe she's eaten a squirrel."
The death of Isis wouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Crawley family adopted her in 1912 and the story now takes place in 1924, making the dog at least 12 years old.
Several other TV shows have had to make changes in the wake of the Islamic State. The FX series Archer will dump ISIS as the name of the fictional spy agency and replace it when the show returns for its sixth season in January.
"Doctor Who" cut a beheading scene in light of the recent attacks carried out by ISIS and captured on video.
Fox also apologized for an ill-timed promotion for its show "Sleepy Hollow" that revolved around the Headless Horseman villain. An email sent out by Think Jam, the marketing agency behind the campaign, announced Sept. 2 as "National Beheading Day," but the date unfortunately coincided with the ISIS beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff.
The fifth season of "Downton Abbey" will premiere in the United States on Jan. 4 on PBS.
