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Downton Abbey series 6: Hugh Bonneville confirms Christmas Special and drops hints

Lady Mary and Lady Edith are set for romantic rollercoasters this year

Jess Denham
Wednesday 11 March 2015 12:19 EDT
There will be a Downton Abbey Christmas special for series six
There will be a Downton Abbey Christmas special for series six (ITV)

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It wouldn’t be Downton Abbey without a Christmas special and, as hoped, the upcoming sixth series will end on a festive note once again.

Hugh Bonneville, who plays the Earl of Grantham, confirmed that the hit period drama will follow the same format as past years at the TRIC Awards in London yesterday.

The English actor revealed that the storyline will pick up in 1925, six months after series five left off, with Lady Rose settled in America after enjoying her honeymoon with new husband Atticus.

“Tom Branson has gone to Boston and some faces that we met towards the end of the fifth season may or may not be coming over the horizon to break or make the hearts of Lady Mary and Lady Edith and people like that,” Bonneville hinted.

Filming is currently underway for the next run of eight episodes, expected to reaching living rooms this autumn.

Creator Julian Fellowes is repeatedly asked when he will bring the ITV show to a close, but insisted recently that he would not “walk away from his baby” unless asked to by owners NBC Universal.

“It won’t go on forever, I’m not a believer in that, but I can’t immediately tell you where the end will be” he told The New York Times.

Rumours surfaced in January suggesting that Fellowes will not have time to continue with Downton once he starts work on new US drama The Gilded Age.

Many of the show’s stars are also looking for jobs state-side, with Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech and Edith Carmichael among those to meet with LA agents.

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