Hugh Bonneville DOWNTON ABBEY PAPERS

Robert Downey Jr GIANT LETTER A

When the Iron Man star joked to Marvel bosses that he wanted to keep the 30ft-high letter A from the Stark Tower sign in the 2012 film The Avengers, he never imagined it would actually happen. He recalled: “I’m looking at it, and we’re shooting in England, and I go, ‘I need that in my office in Venice’. About two weeks ago, a wheeler showed up. I’m like, ‘What the heck is this doing here?’ And they go, ‘This is the A you asked for.’ And I go, ‘They brought it?’ So now we have a massive Avengers A that will be prominently placed.”

The actor, who played the Earl of Grantham, left the period drama with two paper souvenirs – a telegram announcing the outbreak of the First World War in season one and a letter from Henry Talbot inviting the Granthams to a car race in season six. He said: “On Downton not only is each letter beautifully handwritten or typed if appropriate, but it’s also germane to the scene that you’re doing. It’s really beautiful, that level of detail, because it puts you in the moment.” Where does he keep them? In his downstairs loo apparently.