A last hurrah for Downton Abbey in 2018?
IT’S been a long-running saga all of its own: will there, or won’t there be a big screen version of Downton Abbey?
Now one of the show’s most popular stars, Phyllis Logan, has put the speculation to bed – with the same dependable efficiency as her character, the housekeeper Mrs Hughes.
The actress revealed to The Mail on Sunday that a new script has been completed and filming dates arranged for 2018.
‘There’s a potential script coming our way, slightly rewritten,’ said Ms Logan. And she revealed the cast have been consulted about when they are available. Everyone’s been asked what’s going on between this date and that date,’ she continued. ‘So we just hope that all the elements – because there are so many – come together. To have a last hurrah with all the characters, going back to the castle and seeing all the old muckers will be fantastic. I’m certainly up for it.’
It is understood Highclere Castle, near Newbury in Berkshire, where the original series was filmed, will be closed to visitors from May 30 to July 7, thought to be for exterior and interior filming. Downton Abbey shut its doors for the last time on Christmas Day 2015, but millions of fans have been hoping for a movie version of the drama. NBC Universal International Studios had hoped to start filming in 2017 with 20 of the original cast members, including Hugh Bonneville, and Michelle Dockery. All were asked to keep their diaries open but the project never got under way. Will 2018 prove any different? Here’s hoping!